MOSCOW, April 6. /TASS/. People in Ukraine take monastic vows in the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) despite growing persecution by the authorities, the Union of Orthodox Journalists said on Thursday.

"Over the past four days, 12 new monks and nuns have appeared in the UOC," the union said on its Telegram channel.

"People keep coming despite the current persecution against the UOC," the post reads.

The pressure on the canonical church increased in March, when the management of the museum-preserve that owns the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra ordered the UOC monks to leave the monastery.

On April 1, Metropolitan Pavel, the abbot of the monastery, was charged with inciting religious hatred and supporting Russia and sentenced to 60 days of house arrest. Supporters of the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) have been seizing ever more churches - including cathedrals - in recent days. The local authorities are depriving the UOC of the right to use the buildings and the land they stand on.