Police report taking Lavra’s gallery under protection

Police task forces "take under protection" a gallery in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Photo: UOJ

The police officers, who had previously blocked the approaches to building No. 39 in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, closed the premises and stated that they had taken it under protection in accordance with an agreement with the reserve. At the same time, they warned of responsibility for attempts to get inside the building.

“According to the agreement, the gallery premises are taken under protection by the Security Police Department. In the event of an attempted illegal entry, violators will be held accountable in accordance with applicable law,” the police announced through a megaphone.

Oleksandr Rudnik, a representative of the administration of the reserve, said that law enforcement officers managed to “free” and inspect the premises, as well as re-seal it. According to Rudnik, the building will remain closed for the period of the commission of the Ministry of Culture’s work.

One of the lawyers of the monastery, Volodymyr Lubyanetsky, said that the police refused to provide a court decision that would give the right to such actions.

As the UOJ wrote, earlier the police expelled believers from the gallery, in particular women and children, and refused to let Lavra's lawyer enter the building.

The lawyer of the monastery, Archpriest Nikita Chekman, reported that according to an agreement with the Security Police Department in Kyiv, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Reserve should pay more than UAH 4.3 million from the state budget for services to “protect” the territory of the monastery.

Read also

Drabinko: In temples that joined OCU, UOC community has not gone anywhere

Deprivation of registration or church premises will not solve the problem, as believers will find other ways to continue the services.

Drabinko: The implementation of law on UOC ban to cause division in society

The hierarch of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine believes that the court proceedings against the parishes of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church may drag on for years, and their number may reach 12–15 thousand.