Tens of thousands of Kievans took to the streets this week for prayer and protest . On March 10, the Zelensky government announced that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church would have to surrender control of Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. This large monastery complex includes the Holy Dormition cathedral, monastery, and church headquarters. The monks are allowed to leave until March 29, according to the Zelensky government.
It was established in 1051 and serves as the spiritual home for Orthodoxy in Ukraine. It was destroyed by the Soviets. Many structures within the complex were destroyed, and the Holy Dormition cathedral was made into an anti-religious Museum. Mikhail Gorbachev granted monks permission to return in 1988, which was the millennium for Slavic Christianity. The UOC gradually repaired the buildings damaged and made the lavra a flourishing religious site over the years. This is the church that the government is now trying to expel.
This is an escalation in the wave of persecution , which began late last year under the pretense that the church is under Russian rule. In fact, the UOC is independent and not under the control of Moscow patriarchate. Its leader, Metropolitan Onufriy has unambiguously condemned the Russian invasion since the beginning. He stated that it had “no justification with God or with men” as well as “brought death to the Ukrainian land”.
The church donated more than 180 tonnes of humanitarian aid to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2022. Nearly 30 million Ukrainian hryvnias was donated to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. All clergy were asked for donations of resources, blood and other items. Churches were also opened as shelters and bomb shelters. The invasion has already destroyed 150 UOC churches.
According to the Zelensky government, Orthodox Ukrainians can still worship with the smaller, independent church, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. This sounds hollow. This sounds hollow. The OCU was created during the Poroshenko years to be a nationalist scheme using completely uncanonical methods that are not recognized by many Orthodox churches, including the Orthodox Church of America which still prays for the UOC. The canonicity and unity of the Church are essential to Orthodox Christian worship. The best example would be the time Maoist China offered Catholics a chance to join the Communist-affiliated Catholic Patriotic Association. This association did not recognize the primacy and authority of the Roman pontiff. This was not a substitute.
The Kiev monastery is home to 200 monks, 300 seminarians, and they have pledged that they won’t be forced out by the deadline of March 29. One saying, “It’s our shrine, our home, I will not leave it.”
Oleksandr Takachenko, the Zelensky government’s Culture Minister, has stated there is no plan to use violence against the monks. According to Victor Kotsaba, Archbishop of Baryshivka, the UOC, independent “radicals”, will descend upon the lavra once the deadline approaches.
“The brotherhood is not ready to abandon the monastery by March 29, as it is not based upon any laws. He also said that radicals had announced that they would come to the lavra on the 29th to forcefully expel the brotherhood. “Unless the government takes action to ensure safety and order, there will be conflict and confrontation. We hope the government will act correctly in this matter.
Archbishop Victor appealed for the government’s support of basic religious freedom.
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The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (or Ukrainian Orthodox Church) is the Ukrainian church. Millions of our citizens live in poverty. We have strongly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and backed our sovereignty. We hope that the Ukrainian government will respect human rights and allow its citizens freedom of conscience.
These appeals have not been heard. On Monday, the UOC’s governing board met and all nine members went together as a group to try and get a meeting with President Zelensky. Zelensky’s press representative informed them that they wouldn’t be seen after three hours.
The Zelensky government is funded by the United States. We have the right to control what they do. If we don’t act quickly to stop tax dollars being used for religious persecution, Kiev will soon be filled with videos of faithful Ukrainians being detained or worse for simply wanting to exercise their right to pray as they wish. There will be no better propaganda videos than this for Putin.
