Ex-Reserve director: That Lavra is a monastery is RF imperial narrative

Maksym Ostapenko. Photo: Reserve's Facebook

Dismissed from the position of director of the Lavra Reserve, Maksym Ostapenko, in an interview with "Babel", expressed outrage at Minister Tochitsky's words that he did not fight enough against the UOC. The former director emphasized that during his two years of leadership, more was done in the fight against the UOC "than in the previous thirty".

He credited himself with the fact that instead of the UOC, the OCU now «serves» at the Dormition and Refectory Churches. However, Ostapenko is convinced that the main thing in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is not the services, not the monastery, but the Ukrainian spirit.

"The Russian imperial narrative is that the Lavra is exclusively a monastery. And the whole world lives with the thought that the Lavra is a monastery of the ROC. For the last two years, we have been doing everything to show that it is a center of Ukrainian and world culture. We wanted to reveal the Ukrainian identity in the Lavra," emphasized the former director of the Reserve.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that Ostapenko called Drabinko's book Moscow propaganda.

Read also

Vinnytsia Region Authorities Discussed Safety of Hasidic Pilgrims in Uman

More than 30,000 Jewish pilgrims are expected to pass through the region for Rosh Hashanah.

Rivne hierarch rejects media claims over soldier’s funeral

The Rivne Eparchy called on journalists to stop cynically manipulating the memory of fallen Ukrainian defenders.

Lviv police open case against man for desecrating Statue of Virgin Mary

In Lviv, a 46-year-old local resident defaced a statue of the Virgin Mary with a black marker and damaged flowers at its base.

OCU cleric: UOC hard to ban as there is no evidence of ties to Moscow

An OCU cleric says the state needs to create a separate body in order to ban the UOC.

Kamianets-Podilskyi Icon-Painting School completes admissions campaign

The admissions committee recommended eight applicants for enrollment in the first year.

Patriarch Bartholomew accuses Serbian and Russian Churches of ingratitude

The head of the Ecumenical Patriarchate said his Church had “diminished itself” by granting autocephaly, only to receive a “cup of ingratitude” in return.