At Ukraine’s main Orthodox monastery in Kiev, monks say the government-issued order to leave the site “lacks no legal basis” and they want to stay as long as possible.
Authorities have ordered religious to leave the Kiev-Petchersk Monastery, which is linked to the Russian Orthodox Church and plays a key role in the history of Ukrainian and Russian Orthodoxy, by Wednesday at the latest.
Founded in the 11th century and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the site located on the banks of the Dnieper River is home to monks who are part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which was affiliated with the Patriarchate before the outbreak of war from Moscow. over a year ago.
However, the Ukrainian Church announced in May that it would cut ties with Russia because Russian Patriarch Kirill strongly supported Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
However, the Zelensky government believes that this church will remain connected to Moscow.
“Our church was the first of all religious organizations in Ukraine to condemn Putin’s war against Ukraine. Blessed is the Ukrainian army for defending the motherland,” said Archbishop Kliment, a spokesman for this church, when asked by AFP.
“We heard ultimatums from the culture minister that were not confirmed by any legal document. There is no legal basis” to force the monks to leave the place, the archbishop denounced.
In mid-March, Minister Oleksander Tkachenko announced the termination of the concession contract that allowed this church to use part of the Kiev monastery for free due to “violations”. [às normas] in the use of state property”.
For his part, President Volodymir Zelensky appealed to the need to defend Moscow’s spiritual independence.
Searches and Sanctions
According to the religious spokesman, the monks are now threatened with “forced evictions” and “interruptions of electricity, water and internet”. “We will stay in the monastery as long as physically possible,” he said.
On Wednesday evening, Archbishop Pavlo, in charge of the Kiev-Petchersk Monastery, announced in a videotaped message his refusal to leave the place: “We cannot do it, whatever the pretext,” he stated.
On Friday, AFP journalists saw a moving van in front of one of the buildings, in which some young people were loading boxes with books and small furniture. At the main entrance, the police searched the vehicles and asked to open the suitcases.
According to Archbishop Kliment, more than 200 monks and 300 seminarians live on the site, which covers more than 20 acres, with numerous gold-domed churches and green-roofed buildings.
In late 2022, Ukrainian authorities conducted several searches of Orthodox Church religious buildings and sanctioned clergy over their alleged pro-Russian views. The Kiev-Pechersk Monastery was also targeted.
In his March 29 message, Archbishop Pavlo called on the faithful to “join with us to defend this sacred place.”
The church spokesman said he had “received information that the police have been ordered to detain all buses transporting the faithful to the monastery and to check all passengers so that they cannot enter”.
Arina Laurenko, 37, who traveled from Sumy (northeast), said she “supports everyone who defends the monastery and the rights of the faithful”.
For Anna, 46 years old, “there is no connection between this church and Moscow, it’s a lie”. “I think it is unfair to hand over this monastery to the Ministry of Culture,” he stressed.
“I’ll do my best to be there on March 29,” Anna declared, before saying, “I’m crying. I was in church and I’m crying.”
Source: DN
