MOSCOW, March 11. /TASS/. The Ukrainian government’s persecution of the canonic Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) parishioners has been reaching its full force, said Archpriest Nikolay Balashov, an adviser to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill.
On Friday, it was reported that a state-run cultural institution had ordered UOC monks to vacate the historic Eastern Orthodox Christian monastery known as the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra by March 29, with "termination of the lease" cited as the reason. A document ordering them to do so was signed by the director general of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Historical and Cultural Reserve, which is subordinate to the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture.
"The persecution of Orthodox believers in Ukraine is reaching full swing, carried out by the government, which is blindly following all orders of its overseas patrons," Balashov told TASS, commenting on the reports.
Founded in 1051, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is one of the original monasteries of Kievan Rus, located on the territory of modern-day Ukraine. The vast complex of buildings is divided into two major areas. The Lower Lavra territory, housing the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery and the residence of the metropolitan of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, is held in perpetuity by the UOC. However, the Upper Lavra section of the sprawling complex, which includes the Dormition Cathedral and the Refectory Church, remained under the control of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Historical and Cultural Reserve, and was leased by the UOC. The lease expired on December 31, and the cultural reserve’s management refused to renew it. On January 7, the head of the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), Epiphanius (Dumenko), held his first service at the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.
Recently, the Ukrainian authorities have waged a campaign against the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. UOC churches across the country are regularly raided, while priests are charged with subversion and treason.