UOC believers denied access to three more churches of Kyiv Lavra

Conception of St. Anna Church of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Photo: the press service of the monastery

Since March 21, 2023, believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have been banned from praying in three more churches of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra: these are the Exaltation of the Cross, Anno-Zachatievsky (Conception of St. Anna – Trans. Note) and the so-called “warm” church in honor of the Synaxis of All the Reverend Kyiv-Pechersk Fathers. This was reported by the Information and Educational Department of the UOC.

The UOC was notified about the closure of access to the Lavra temples through a letter from the Ministry of Culture, which states that from March 21, a special commission will work on the territory of the temples, as well as the Near and Far Caves, to determine "the presence, safety and conditions of storage of cultural exhibits" – this is how the department calls the relics of saints and shrines of the monastery.

Recall that the Ukrainian authorities have closed access to the Kyiv Caves saints. The UOJ also reported that the Ministry of Culture banned the UOC from having services in the Refectory and Assumption Cathedrals of the monastery from January 1, 2023.

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