One of the priests of the Moscow Patriarchate on the territory of the Lavra said that Donbass was allegedly the first to “bomb the Ukrainians.”
Today, the last formal service of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate took place in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Law enforcement officers were afraid of clashes or confrontations, but the prayer service was relatively calm. Believers affected only journalists.
Recall that on March 10, the National Reserve of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra terminated the agreement on the gratuitous use of buildings and other property with the Monastery of the UOC-MP. Priests and monks had 20 days to leave. That is, on March 30, they should no longer be in the Lavra.
But today, Metropolitan Pavel (Lebed), during a sermon, told the faithful that “we are staying in the Lavra.” Moreover, neither the monks nor the parishioners today had a hint that the priests would leave the reserve.
Awaiting court decision
From the very morning, believers began to gather in the lower territory of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, among whom was the boxer Oleksandr Usyk, and Bishop Pavel simultaneously published a scandalous statement in which he clearly said that no one would leave the reserve without a court decision.
He added that the UOC had filed a lawsuit on March 23 and announced the removal of three judges already.
According to Pavel, the monastery leadership received a letter the day before. In it, the National Reserve informs that on March 30, a state commission on the issues of acceptance and transfer of property to a state institution begins to work on the territory of the Lavra. Until then, the monks must vacate the premises.
“We inform everyone that the brethren of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra do not intend to leave the monastery without a corresponding court decision and the provision of the approved composition of the commission on the issues of acceptance and transfer of property to a state institution,” the metropolitan said.
History with Pavel’s passport
It should be noted that the day before, Vladyka was noticed in one of the Kyiv service passport centers, where he applied for a passport. Today, during a sermon on the territory of the Lavra, Paul quarreled with journalists because of this.
In a comment to Radio Liberty, the metropolitan called the journalists “slanderers”, commenting, in particular, on the situation around the passport.
Pavel claims that he contacted the service center to allegedly report the disappearance of his passport during the searches.
“They (the media – ed.) wrote that I was already leaving with my relatives. So who should I talk to in this case,” Pavel said.
Russian propaganda from the father
Today, not only the metropolitan quarreled with journalists, but also other clergy of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate and parishioners. In particular, one of the priests began to broadcast the theses of the Kremlin propagandists that Russia allegedly did not unleash a war in the Donbass. The representative of the MP began to deny that the Russian occupiers have been in Donbas since 2014. The priest complains about the Revolution of Dignity and the fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych.
“Why did the Donbass rise up? Because Yanukovych deceived them,” he said.
In response to the journalist’s clarification that the Donbass did not “emerge”, but Russians invaded its territory, the priest said that those areas were allegedly “bombed by Ukrainians.”
“The Ukrainians were the first to bomb. Don’t talk about Donbass. Donbass didn’t want Poroshenko, didn’t want Maidan. What did Maidan give Ukraine? “Remember,” said the father.
And a parishioner of the UOC-MP, Victoria Kokhanovskaya, who calls herself a human rights activist, threatened to take believers to the streets because of the eviction of the Moscow Patriarchate from the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.
“God made it so”
The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine nevertheless reminds the clergy of the MP that they must move out of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra on March 29. According to the head of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov, the country’s legislation will respect every Ukrainian without exception and this will not depend on whether a person goes to church and loves God.
“Second thing: with regard to church things, we do not interfere there, but I want to note that the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is a museum owned by the state. And everything related to this museum complex will be decided by the state, and not by some individual people who for some reason decided that they would decide how to discredit our laws,” Danilov said.
At the same time, speaking about the monks of the MP, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council emphasized that “no one will pull them out by their feet or use violence.” Temples will continue to work with services, but according to Ukrainian laws, and not “artificial formations.”
“If you say that everything that happens in the world is the hand of God, consider that this is the hand of God. You don’t argue with God. That’s how God decided that on the 29th they should leave this monastery, go to another place” – said the head of the National Security and Defense Council.
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