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Kiev-Pechersk Lavra abbot to be forcibly taken to court from hospital

The court has just "ruled to forcibly bring" the archbishop and hold a hearing on Saturday at 06:30 p.m. Moscow time, the UOC said

MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/. Metropolitan Pavel, the abbot of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, is in a hospital, but the court has rescheduled a hearing into the charges pressed against him by Ukraine’s Security Service from Monday to Saturday night, and there is a decision of his compulsory attendance at the hearing, the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) said on Saturday.

According to the metropolitan’s lawyer, as reported by the Strana publication, "the archbishop is in the hospital." Earlier in the day, Metropolitan Pavel felt unwell during the court hearing, so it was decided to put it off until Monday.

The court has just "ruled to forcibly bring" the archbishop and hold a hearing on Saturday evening, the UOC said.

On Saturday morning, law enforcement officers cordoned off the building in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra where Metropolitan Pavel resides. Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) charged him with inciting religious hatred and justifying Russia’s actions in Ukraine. His rooms were searched and the archbishop was taken to the court for deciding on his pretrial detention. The hearing was held behind closed doors. The prosecution insisted that Metropitan Pavel be placed under house arrest, but not inside the Lavra.

The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is one of Russia’s first monasteries and the oldest monastery on territory of modern Ukraine. The situation around the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra escalated to a boiling point after the monks of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church had refused to leave the monastery by order of the directorate of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Historical and Cultural Reserve.

On March 30, a commission of the Ukrainian Culture Ministry arrived at the Lavra for a property inventory but the clergy led by Metropolitan Pavel alongside parishioners did not let them in. Both parties went to court. However, the hearing of the case of the wrongful termination of the lease is scheduled for April 26, while the Culture Ministry demands that the monks immediately leave the monastery and stop obstructing the commission’s work.

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