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Dumenko Calls for 'Russian World' to Be Eradicated from Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra
The OCU head's vision for the Lavra as a "pan-Christian shrine" comes as the monastery remains at the center of a bitter struggle over its identity and future.
KYIV — As reported by UOJ-Ukraine, Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) leader Epiphany Dumenko called for the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra to be developed as a "Ukrainian and pan-Christian shrine" during a July 14 prayer service for Ukraine at the monastery.
The prayer service was held in the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos and was led by Dumenko together with the monastery's alternative brotherhood. In attendance were monks from Mt. Athos led by Archimandrite Bartholomew of New Esphigmenou Monastery. Ukrainian government officials, including National Preserve Director Maksym Ostapenko, also attended the service. The event marked the opening of the Lavra's Far Caves.
In his address, Dumenko thanked government officials and lawmakers for their "unity and resilience" and also expressed gratitude to all those present for their steadfastness during the war. He said it was necessary to finally "eradicate the spirit of the 'Russian world'" that, he claimed, had prevailed at the monastery for decades.
The Lavra, founded more than 1,000 years ago, has long been one of the most important monasteries of the Orthodox Church. It was restored over several decades by the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) after the Soviet era, but has become the focus of an ongoing effort by the Ukrainian state and the OCU to remove it from the UOC. Dumenko's call for the monastery's "revival and reconstruction" comes amid that continuing dispute.
Previously, the UOJ reported that Ostapenko said the presence of monks affected tourism access at the Lavra.
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