The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, represented by the national reserve "Kiev Pechersk Lavra", demanded that the monks of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) take personal belongings from the chapel on the territory of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra and hand over the keys to it by 16.00 on Wednesday.
This is stated in a letter to the monastery, which was published on his Telegram channel by lawyer Nikita Chekman, representing the interests of the UOC.
"The reserve intends to use the architectural monument of local importance "Chapel over the artesian well" (building 47)... for conducting divine services by military chaplains... We offer to pick up personal belongings, hand over the keys to building 47 to the representatives of the reserve before 16.00 on August 14," the text of the letter says.
It also states that in order for representatives of the monastery to hold divine services in the chapel, prior approval is needed with representatives of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra National Reserve. The letter is dated August 13th.
A new round of conflict around the Kiev Pechersk Lavra began with the notification of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine about the termination of the lease agreement of the monastery unilaterally, the monks were required to leave the lavra on March 29, 2023. The UOC called the unilateral termination of the contract illegal and sued. The trial continues, nevertheless, the Ukrainian state, represented by the Kiev Pechersk Lavra National Reserve, has taken away many monastery buildings from the monks, banned the clergy of the UOC from serving in the largest churches of the Lavra, and is also going to "audit" the relics of saints who have been in the Lavra caves for centuries.
The Economic Court of Kiev is considering the claim of the state priest of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra to the monastery of the same name of the UOC for the removal of obstacles to the use of property, as well as the claim of the monastery to the reserve for recognizing the unilateral refusal to fulfill the lease agreement as invalid.
The Ukrainian authorities have organized the largest wave of persecution of the UOC in the country's recent history. Referring to its connection with Russia, local authorities in different regions of Ukraine decided to ban the activities of the UOC, and the parliament adopted in the first reading a bill on its actual prohibition throughout the country. The authorities have imposed sanctions on some representatives of the clergy of the UOC. The Security Service of Ukraine began to open criminal cases against the clergy of the UOC, conduct "counterintelligence activities" - searches at bishops and priests, in churches and monasteries in search of evidence of "anti-Ukrainian activities."