Orthodox monks in the Kyiv monastery accused of Russian links refused the release order | World news
Orthodox monks who were ordered out of a monastery in Kyiv refused to leave on Wednesday, as the deadline to leave the complex had passed. The dispute over the monastery of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, the most revered Orthodox site in Ukraine, is part of a wider religious conflict that is taking place compared to the war.
The monks using the property belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has been accused of links to Russia.
But the site is owned by the Ukrainian government, and the agency managing the property told the UOC earlier this month that, on March 29, it had terminated the lease.
Metropolitan Pavel, the abbot of the monastic complex, told worshipers on Wednesday that the UOC will not leave the site pending the outcome of a lawsuit filed in a Kyiv court last week to stop the establishment.
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There were no attempts to remove the monks on Wednesday but Pavel said the UOC had been notified that the evacuation of the property would begin on Wednesday.
Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko appeared to confirm that, telling public broadcaster Suspilne that a commission will start working on Wednesday on “the acquisition of those buildings that will be moved from urban use to urban use.”
The government said the sisters violated their lease by making alterations to the historic site and other technical irregularities. The monks of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are criticizing this, calling the allegations prophetic.
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The Ukrainian government has been cracking down on the UOC over its historic ties to the Russian Orthodox Church, whose leader, Patriarch Kirill, has supported Russian President Vladimir Putin in his invasion of Ukraine.
The UOC has insisted it is loyal to Ukraine, has opposed Russian aggression from the start and has even declared its independence from Moscow.
But Ukrainian security agencies have said that some Ukrainian churches have maintained close ties with Moscow. They ransacked several holy places of the church and then sent photos of rubles, Russian passports and leaflets with messages from the Moscow patriarch as evidence that some church workers were loyal to Russia.
Many Orthodox communities in Ukraine have cut their ties with the UOC which is one of the main sources of Russian influence in Ukraine. Gradually, they turned to the rival Ukrainian Orthodox Church after receiving recognition from the Ecumenical Father of Constantinople, who is considered the first among the leaders of the Eastern Orthodox Church but does not have world power. the pope The patriarchs of Moscow and most of the other Orthodox patriarchs refused to accept that name which caused a schism with the Russian church.
