MP speaks of “non-public process” of enticing Lavra monks to OCU

MP Nikita Poturaev. Photo: znaj.ua
Verkhovna Rada deputy from the “Servant of the People” party, the head of the parliamentary Committee for Humanitarian and Information Policy Nikita Poturaev admitted that the authorities use non-public mechanisms of influence on the monastics of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra to persuade them to join the OCU. He said this in a comment to espreso.tv.
“There is a very difficult process going on there, not all of it is public, and there are certain aspects of this process that publicity can harm,” the MP said. “Did anyone imagine two weeks ago that one of the leaders of the Lavra from the UOC-MP would transfer to the OCU and publicly call on the monastic brethren to transfer to the OCU and thus remain in the Lavra? Nobody expected this. If this had been publicized beforehand, it might have hurt the process a little."
As reported, on March 29, 2023, Epifaniy Dumenko appointed the former sacristan of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Archimandrite Abramius, who defected to the OCU, "acting abbot" of the monastery.
Read also

OCU and Greek-Catholics bless site for construction of military church
Hierarchs of the OCU and Greek-Catholic chaplains conducted a joint blessing ceremony.

DESS signs Memorandum on Cooperation in the Religious Sphere with Greece
Following the event, participants met with Epifaniy, laying, in DESS’s words, “the foundations for a future where compassion, knowledge, and service contribute to peace."
Chernivtsi police claim they “prevented escalation” near UOC cathedral
The violent seizure and brutal beating of UOC clergy and believers by militants was officially described as a “conflict between representatives of two religious communities.”
UOC priest brutally beaten by militants in Chernivtsi, in serious condition
CT scans reveal that Fr. Roman has multiple broken ribs and lung contusions.
UOC’s Protection-Nicholas Church in Pokrovsk virtually destroyed
The church has been reduced to ruins due to ongoing shelling.
TRC's ex-head, who threatened to seize Pochaiv Lavra, sentenced to 9 years
Mykhailo Holovko was dismissed from his post in 2023 after being charged with bribery.