Primate: UOC revived Pochaiv Lavra literally from oblivion

His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry at the Pochaiv Lavra. Photo: news.church.ua

The brethren of the Pochaiv Lavra, its abbots and the hierarchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have invested a lot of work in the revival of the monastery after the decline, which it came to during the Soviet era. This was told in an interview with the UOJ by the Primate of the UOC, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine, who was the abbot of the Pochaiv Lavra in 1988-1990.

He noted that the restoration of the monastery began after the celebration in 1988 of the millennium of the Baptism of Rus'. Then the authorities allowed to repair and restore the temples and premises of the monastery, which was previously prohibited.

The Primate of the UOC recalled that during the period of official godlessness, “many premises and territories, gardens and agricultural areas were taken away from the Lavra; a printing house, candle production, a bakery and other objects of Lavra economy were closed; the regional psychiatric hospital was then located in the old building for the brethren.

“A Soviet museum of atheism was located in the former hotel for pilgrims, where the Pochaiv Theological Seminary now operates, at the foot of the Lavra complex,” recalls His Beatitude. “Numerous tourists, schoolchildren, students, workers and intellectuals, before entering the monastery, had to visit this “center of the fight against religion”… Such was the reality of that time. Unfortunately, today these dark times are coming back, but under different slogans.”

The primate said that in total about 30 state-owned enterprises and organizations operated on the territory of the Lavra, “moreover, the buildings were mercilessly exploited and fell into disrepair.”

“About 60 families lived in the former monastery buildings, screams and drunken swearing were often heard from the apartments. Desolation and abomination settled in the once well-groomed monastic buildings. The monastery was supposed to revive all this literally from oblivion,” the Archpastor noted.

According to him, "the Pochaiv monastery began to rise from the ruins, like a phoenix from the ashes."

“In 1994, the Pochaiv Theological Seminary was opened, the first teachers of which were the monks of the Lavra with a theological education. <...> In 1996, the clergy blessed Archimandrite Vladimir (Moroz), now Metropolitan of Pochaiv, to be the rector of the Lavra, who has been tirelessly working on this high obedience for 27 years. Under his leadership, the Lavra literally changed. The Lord helped Vladyka Vladimir and his brethren to return many territories, monastic premises and buildings to the property of the Lavra and to build a beautiful hotel with a modern refectory for pilgrims. But the main building and decoration of the Pochaiv Lavra was the new Transfiguration Cathedral, the largest in Ukraine in terms of area, the 7th largest in the world. This is a unique heritage of our time, the cultural and spiritual significance of which is difficult to overestimate,” emphasized the First Hierarch of the UOC.

He also noted the great contribution of his predecessor, His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr, to the revival of the Lavra: “The Primate of the Church, who reposed in the Lord, treated the Pochaiv Lavra with great attention. His Beatitude not only regularly led divine services here, but also contributed in every possible way to the return of the Lavra lands and premises, interceding with the authorities.”

The primate expressed the hope that "under the current circumstances, our authorities will respect and pay attention to the colossal work that the Lavra's brethren have done to revive it."

“The Pochaiv brethren and the God-loving flock of this region for many centuries have been role models of high patriotism, national consciousness, devotion to their native Ukraine, its spiritual culture, loyalty to the Ukrainian people. In all ages, Pochaiv repulsed the attacks of opponents both from the Western world and from the East,” His Beatitude highlighted.

He also pointed out that "after the invasion of the troops of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, the holy monastery received many hundreds of refugees who found shelter here, brotherly warmth, care and compassion."

As the UOJ reported, the head of the UGCC, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, said that the Uniates are "working" to gain control over the Pochaiv Lavra.

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