Dumenko awards reserve’s leadership as "benefactors of the monastery"
Ostapenko gratefully acknowledges Dumenko for the award. Photo: Reserve's Facebook page
On August 28, 2023, the head of the OCU Serhiy Dumenko awarded the leaders and employees of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Reserve in the Assumption Cathedral, as reported on the reserve's Facebook page.
In particular, the head of the OCU honored the reserve’s acting director Maksym Ostapenko and his deputy Oleksandr Ovchar with an award. It is these people who are responsible for the illegal seizure and sealing of the buildings of the UOC monastery in the Lower Lavra. Additionally, the reserve's leadership allowed access to the "OCU abbot of the Lavra," Abraham Lotysh, to Metropolitan Onuphry's residence in the Lavra.
In a publication on the OCU website, these people are called “benefactors of the monastery.”
Recall that from August 11, 2023, the leadership of the reserve forbade believers from accessing the caves and temples of the Lower Lavra.
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.