Dumenko awards reserve’s leadership as "benefactors of the monastery"
Ostapenko gratefully acknowledges Dumenko for the award. Photo: Reserve's Facebook page
On August 28, 2023, the head of the OCU Serhiy Dumenko awarded the leaders and employees of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Reserve in the Assumption Cathedral, as reported on the reserve's Facebook page.
In particular, the head of the OCU honored the reserve’s acting director Maksym Ostapenko and his deputy Oleksandr Ovchar with an award. It is these people who are responsible for the illegal seizure and sealing of the buildings of the UOC monastery in the Lower Lavra. Additionally, the reserve's leadership allowed access to the "OCU abbot of the Lavra," Abraham Lotysh, to Metropolitan Onuphry's residence in the Lavra.
In a publication on the OCU website, these people are called “benefactors of the monastery.”
Recall that from August 11, 2023, the leadership of the reserve forbade believers from accessing the caves and temples of the Lower Lavra.
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