Network shows buses by which OCU brought crowd to the Lavra
Buses with "extras" for the OCU. Photo: screenshot of the video of the Myriany Telegram channel
On May 25, 2023, footage appeared on social media showing a group of people in yellow and blue ties getting off buses parked next to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and moving towards the Assumption Cathedral of the monastery. The video was published on the Myriany Telegram channel.
In total, near the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, eyewitnesses noticed 7 buses with extras for the OCU, one of which is a double-decker.
Journalists noted that the first buses arrived at the Lavra at about 7 am.
Eyewitnesses also said that police officers allowed parishioners of the OCU to enter the Upper Lavra even before 8:00. At the same time, the entrance to the temple in honor of St. Agapit of Pechersk, where the liturgy of the UOC was to be held, was closed until 8:00, and the parishioners of the Church were waiting for the start of the service behind the barrier.
Immediately after the “service”, people were loaded back and taken to their place of residence.
The festive "liturgy" in the Assumption Cathedral of the Lavra on the day of the Ascension of the Lord was led by the head of the OCU, Epifaniy Dumenko.
As the UOJ reported, crowd was gathered from regions for Dumenko's "service" in the Lavra on the feast of the Synaxis of the Monks of the Caves.
Read also
U.S. political analyst: Bishop Budde is a 'tool of Satan'
Political analyst Mark Steyn blasted Episcopal Bishop Budde’s stance on families with gay, lesbian, and transgender children.
Archbishop Anastasios of Albania laid to rest in Tirana
The Primate of the Albanian Church was laid to rest in the crypt beneath the Resurrection Cathedral.
UOJ opens its branch in Albania
The new European organization Union of Orthodox Journalists has opened a branch in Albania.
In Bukovyna, UOC believers appeal to Vance on the eve of OCU’s church raid
The parish also invited a UN monitoring group and an OSCE human rights officer.
Abducted by military commissars, archimandrite reveals TRC detention details
The abbot of the monastery in Babai described the conditions in which clergymen are held in the military recruitment center.
Council of Churches in London discusses religion in Ukraine with British MPs
The meeting addressed religious freedom in Ukraine and the challenges faced by various denominations during the war.