Activist about Mercury of Caves: Out to Smolensk from our Ukrainian Lavra!

An OCU activist in the Near Caves of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Photo: spzh.news

On 24 August 2023, an excursion for war veterans and parishioners of the OCU was organised in the Near Caves of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, reports one of the eyewitnesses of the excursion.

The participants were brought to the Lower Lavra by minibus.

One of the activists called on the authorities to remove the relics of St Mercurius of the Caves from the "Ukrainian Lavra" to Smolensk, as that is where, she said, "he belongs".

"Did he come here from Smolensk? Let him lie there in Smolensk. Why do we need him in the Ukrainian Lavra?" the woman asked in astonishment.

"As for the excursion. It was conducted for them by representatives of the Reserve. The excursion was very superficial. They did not tell the excursionists about the lives of the saints. They only said that some of the saints had their hands or feet visible," the source said.

He also noted that none of the visitors to the caves venerated the relics.

As reported, the Reserve has banned access to the Lower Lavra for everyone except monks.

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