Lavra monk: The power wants to expel us, but we will not leave on our own

Hierodeacon Pavel, resident of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Photo: spzh.news

Hierodeacon Pavel, a resident of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, commented to the UOJ on the forcible seizure of the monastery’s buildings and the course of court hearings at which the Ministry of Culture demands monks to move out of the monastery.

According to the monk, the brethren of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra will not leave the monastery themselves, but will continue to defend it together with the faithful of the Church.

The monk also urged believers to continue the path of a Christian to eternal life and to be one in all situations.

“Somewhere after 8:00 on July 6, I went to the court, which was taking place in the case of the Ministry of Culture against the Monastery to forcibly evict us from the Lavra. In the court itself, I saw what was happening in relation to the believers of the UOC. This is a parade of hypocrisy. This is what is happening here, only in a courteous form, when no one lashes out at anyone, calls names, spits, poisons, as has been happening in the Lavra for more than three months. And, of course, their speech is interesting, as they say, 'In no case do we want to expel the monks from here, we want the monks to be in the Lavra.' But at the same time, the crux of the matter is to drive us out of here because we ourselves will not leave,” he said.

“You can see for yourself that the abbot of the Lavra, Metropolitan Pavel, has been removed from administration and is not allowed into the monastery. Also, activists Viktoria Kokhanovska and others are put under house arrest so that they cannot help believers gather and defend the Lavra,” the monk added.

As reported by the UOJ, the police used force against the defenders of the Lavra.

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