MinCult: Ostapenko fired over weak response to "Moscow spirit" in the Lavra
Minister of Culture Tochytskyi. Photo: OCU
Minister of Culture Mykola Tochytskyi explained on his Facebook page why he dismissed Maksym Ostapenko, head of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve.
According to Tochytskyi, the dismissal was “a response to the weak enforcement” of Law 3894 (on the ban of the UOC – Ed.).
“The Lavra must be free of the Moscow spirit – that should be the top priority of the Reserve’s director. However, despite the Ministry’s support in transferring churches to the OCU, the results of a year’s work do not meet the national security challenges Ukraine is facing,” the minister said.
He added that “Moscow priests desecrated the Lavra, turning it into a place for peddling faith and consumer goods.”
“Unfortunately, the expected changes to free the Lavra from the entrepreneurial spirit of the Moscow Church never took place. The country has no time to wait for the end of illegal trade, unlawful leases, the unchecked presence of Moscow monks, and the further destruction of cultural monuments,” Tochytskyi concluded.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Ministry of Culture had dismissed Ostapenko from his post as director of the reserve.
Read also
In Spain, murderer moved to women's prison after claiming to be female
A Spaniard convicted of a series of brutal murders has secured a transfer to a women's prison allegedly based on a change of gender identity.
Georgian Patriarchate warns about fake social media pages
The Georgian Orthodox Church has stated that unknown individuals are using official symbols to create fake social media pages.
Court extends round-the-clock house arrest for Metropolitan Arseniy
The Chechelivsky Court of Dnipro left the abbot of the Sviatohirsk Lavra under house arrest and allowed him to attend medical procedures without separate permission.
OCU shows number of parishioners in seized church of Bezuhlivka
About 15 people with flags stood at the first "service" at St. Michael's Church after the seizure.
In Kyiv, OCU and UGCC сhaplains given an introductory tour of synagogue
Ukraine’s chief rabbi said that clergy of the OCU, UGCC, and RCC familiarized themselves with Jewish tradition at a synagogue.
OCU outraged that Lepliavo parish removed church property before seizure
The Cherkasy Eparchy of the OCU complained that after the fake “transfer” in Lepliavo, UOC faithful left them nothing but bare walls.