Online posts recall Lavra's condition when returned to Church 37 years ago

The Lavra’s Church of the “Life-Giving Spring,” restored by UOC monks. Photo: UOC Press Service

Exactly 37 years ago, on June 24, 1988, the Soviet authorities began transferring parts of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra back to the Church. This was recalled by members of the Facebook group SvitViry.

“It was the territory of the Far Caves. In 1990, the authorities handed over to the monks the territory of the Near Caves and its associated sites – Exaltation of the Cross Church, the gallery and bell tower, the Church in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God ‘Life-Giving Spring,’ and a number of other buildings. Most of the structures transferred by the municipal authorities were in a state close to complete ruin,” the group wrote.

They also posted photos, sourced from the UOC press service, showing Lavra buildings as they looked at the time of transfer and many years later, after their restoration by the monastery. In nearly every case, the photos demonstrate that the buildings were fully restored by the monks and faithful.

It will be reminded that the Ministry of Culture, in justifying its termination of the lease agreement with the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, claimed that it had identified “improper maintenance of a local architectural heritage site” in the Lower Lavra.

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