Commenting on the Ukrainian minister’s statement about the expulsion of monks from an Orthodox monastery in Kiev, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that religious freedom in Ukraine is being held hostage by “bandits in Pankiv.”
Yesterday, Tuesday, the Minister of Culture of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko said that the monks can stay in the Orthodox Church of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra if they join the ranks of the dissident Orthodox Church.
“The regime in Kyiv openly and without any hesitation put forward its criminal logic: freedom of religion in Ukraine is a hostage to the desire of bandits on Pankov Street (where the residence of the President of Ukraine is located),” Zakharova added.
The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is considered one of the first monasteries in the capital of Ancient Rus’, Kiev, since it was founded in 1051 under Yaroslav the Wise by monk Anthony, a native of Lyubech, and his student Theodosius, where Prince. Svyatoslav II donated a plateau above the caves (hence the literal translation of the name of the monastery “Pechersky Monastery”) and beautiful stone churches, decorated with paintings, towers of fortresses and other buildings were built here.
Earlier, the abbot of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Archbishop Pavel, said that from January 1, 2023, the entrance to the Refectory Church and the Assumption Cathedral would be closed to the clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, since the administration of the cultural reserve refused to renew contracts with the temple. Ukrainian Orthodoxy now fears that the Kiev authorities both synagogues will be handed over to the dissident Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Source: News