Ministry of Culture: UOC monks will be forced out of Lavra in a month

Acting head of the Ministry of Culture Rostyslav Karandeev. Photo: Glavcom

Acting Minister of Culture of Ukraine Rostyslav Karandeev said in an interview with Glavcom that the monks of the UOC must vacate the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, otherwise it will be done by force in a month.

"I am, of course, for dialogue, but you have to be persistent. Well, we give them a month. I’m talking about the Lower Lavra. After that, the issue will be resolved by force," he said.

Karandeev noted that most of the monks "are focused on the faith and not on the 'Russian world', unlike church leaders, who were carriers of the ROC narrative".

Karandeev also said that the inventory of monastery property is ongoing, and noted that the process of transferring the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra to the state is not as fast as he would like.

As reported, earlier Karandeev said that the Ministry of Culture is working on leaving monastic life in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, but it should be under the OCU. He expressed confidence that for those monks who were not hierarchs, it makes no difference what their Church is called, and only relics and the Lord God matter.

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