UGCC head calls for Pochaiv and Saint Sophia to become "national shrines"

Sviatoslav Shevchuk. Photo: Shevchuk’s Facebook page

The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), Sviatoslav Shevchuk, has proposed introducing the concept of "national shrines" –  religious sites that would be open for worship and prayer to representatives of all religious denominations in Ukraine.

Shevchuk made this statement on April 4 in Lutsk during the presentation of his book "Ukraine Stands! Ukraine Fights! Ukraine Prays!" at Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University, according to the Volyn news outlet Kultura Rayon.

Responding to a question about the possibility of granting the Greek Catholics access to the Pochaiv Lavra, Shevchuk said that the UGCC does not lay claim to property, but seeks the "opportunity to pray."

"The expulsion of our monks from Pochaiv was an imperial act, when Moscow sought to turn Pochaiv into a stronghold of the 'Russian world.' And unfortunately, that remains the case to this day," Shevchuk stated.

According to him, sites such as Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv and the Pochaiv Lavra "should be given the status of national shrines."

As a reminder, Shevchuk had previously stated that "after the de-Moscowfication of the Pochaiv Lavra, the authorities should remember about us."

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