Details of SBU searches in Korets Monastery become known

The Korets Monastery. Photo: find-way.com.ua

On June 24, 2025, employees of the Security Service of Ukraine conducted searches at the Holy Trinity Convent in Korets, Rivne region. As reported on the Telegram channel kozakTv1, citing sources in the monastery, the SBU was accompanied by a detachment of the National Guard of Ukraine – about 30 armed servicemen.

It is noted that during the inspection, the law enforcement officers behaved "very politely, calmly, and humanely". They checked identities and documents, reviewed personal phones and devices on-site, and immediately returned them.

According to the source, they also searched the libraries, seized several books "for examination", asked about weapons, whether the nuns were keeping them anywhere. They also engaged in “polite but curious conversations,” during which they suggested the nuns consider transferring under the omophorion of “some other local Church” such as the Constantinopolitan or Polish Church.

"It’s not that they promised this would protect the monastery from further searches, but that’s somehow how it was implied. Interestingly, among the suggested transition options was even the UOC, which the authorities are trying to ban," the source told kozakTv1.

Journalists explain that the monastery is stavropegial and formally directly subordinate to the ROC: "It sounds serious, but in fact, the monastery is a community of Ukrainian nuns and workers who live an isolated independent life and have had no connection with the Patriarchate since the start of the full-scale war."

After this, the SBU and National Guard left the monastery, taking with them one male worker to the TRC. As it turned out later, he is the father of four children, so he will not be forcibly mobilized.

It should be noted that it's not the first time that the Korets Monastery has been searched. In November 2022, SBU employees checked the nuns' passports, phones, and searched everywhere for "signs of support for Russian aggression," but could not find anything.

Also, in November 2022, leaflets with "sermons" of the ROC Primate were planted in the Korets Monastery.

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