Ostapenko: Lower Lavra is needed to settle prisoners there
Maksym Ostapenko. Photo: Ukrinform
On August 11, 2023, at a media briefing, Maksym Ostapenko, Acting Director General of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Reserve, said that he was taking buildings away from the monastery in order to accommodate the prisoners and the wounded who needed "spiritual rehabilitation." The corresponding video was posted on its telegram channel by the Strana resource.
According to Ostapenko, "now there is a huge need for people who are undergoing spiritual rehabilitation in the Lavra." At the same time, the state "now has no such premises." And there are hotels in the Lavra, which, as he claims, are allegedly repaired at state expense.
The reserve seals them up in order to "use them for the needs of the military, the wounded, the prisoners."
The official said that in general there are 42 or 43 facilities in the Lower Lavra, of which the reserve “returned to use” 10, and “about 30 are either in the use of the monks of the monastery or in the use of unknown people who conduct economic or entrepreneurial activities there.”
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that according to Ostapenko, unknown people provoke pro-Ukrainian monks in the Lavra.
Read also
To restore the 2022 population, women would need to give birth to 8 children each, – doctor
The director of the Kyiv Perinatal Center stated that to restore the population to 2022 levels, every woman would have to give birth to eight children.
Cherkasy RMA head reports Uman's preparations for Hasidic pilgrims' visit
Uman will strengthen security measures, medical services, transportation, and checkpoints, and an operational headquarters will be established for the duration of Rosh Hashanah celebrations.
In Italy, RCC priest commits suicide over transfer to another parish
In Italy, a 75-year-old Roman Catholic priest took his own life after after the announcement of a transfer from the parish where he had served for nearly 25 years.
UOC believers in Yakushyntsi call to protect their churches from seizure
Parishioners of St. Nicholas Church and the Church of Seraphim of Sarov declared a violation of their religious rights and asked the international community to pay attention to the situation.
Protestant missionary abducted by militants released in Niger
An American Protestant missionary spent nearly ten months in captivity in Niger, where Islamist militant activity has intensified.
Prosecutors: Russian attacks damage nearly 2,000 churches and heritage sites
According to the prosecutor's office, 1,990 cultural heritage sites in Ukraine, including churches and other religious buildings, have been damaged or destroyed.