Lavra’s ecclesiarch shares how Venerable Fathers saved two AFU soldiers

Ecclesiarch of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Archimandrite Polycarp. Photo: DNK

Archimandrite Polycarp (Linenko), ecclesiarch of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, spoke in an interview with the DNK YouTube channel about the intercession of the Venerable Fathers of the Caves.

Regarding the current situation surrounding the caves – where a commission from the Ministry of Culture is conducting “examinations” of relics – he said, “At the moment, unfortunately, there is no access to the caves.” He declined to comment further on the situation, adding, “The venerable ones are resting from us, I’ve come to realize.”

At the same time, he noted, “The Venerable Fathers hear us even from afar – it's truly incomprehensible.”

“Two young men came to me at the beginning of Great Lent in 2022 and said they were going to volunteer for the army. I gave them Communion and anointed them with holy oil in the caves, and they went off to war,” the monk recounted.

In August of the same year, the soldiers were staying in a house in the Kharkiv region when a local resident informed the enemy of their location. The house was subsequently bombed.

“By a miracle of God, they managed to escape – one of them sustained only a concussion. They all survived. As they themselves say: ‘We are grateful to the Venerable Fathers of the Caves for giving us another chance to live in this world,’” Archimandrite Polycarp shared.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Lavra had submitted a statement to the State Bureau of Investigation concerning the desecration of the relics of the venerable fathers.

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