Drabynko: Our churches are empty – why do we need the Pochaiv Lavra?
Divine service in the Pochaiv Lavra. Photo: UOJ
OCU Metropolitan Alexander Drabynko spoke out against attempts to seize the Pochaiv Lavra from the UOC, pointing to problems within the OCU itself, according to Glavcom.
Speaking about the situation at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Drabynko noted the stark contrast compared to the time when it was under the UOC. “Life used to be vibrant: nine Liturgies were served daily, there were pilgrims, candles were bought, prayer requests were taken. Now in the Lavra – silence, animation, five newly tonsured monks,” he said.
A similar situation, in Drabynko’s view, is seen in many other cities – “the churches stand empty.”
“And we still want to take the Pochaiv Lavra? Until the leadership of the OCU and the UOC-MP sit down at the negotiating table, this issue cannot be resolved,” the metropolitan declared.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that, according to Drabynko, in his Pereyaslav-Vyshneve Diocese there are churches where Metropolitan Onuphry, not Dumenko, is commemorated.
Read also
In Amsterdam, Islamist group carries out terrorist attack at Jewish school
An explosion occurred at night at a Jewish school in the capital of the Netherlands.
Amsterdam comments on secret letter by Phanar hierarch
The lawyer described Archbishop Elpidophoros’s actions as “political games in support of religious intolerance.”
Prosecutors in Ternopil region seek return of OCU shrine to state ownership
Through the courts, prosecutors have demanded that the state save the cells of an eighteenth-century monastery which OCU parishioners are unable to maintain properly.
In London, Zaluzhny discusses "our resilience" with UCCRO delegation
In the British capital, the Ukrainian ambassador received religious figures from the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations.
Monastic tonsure performed at Khmelnytskyi Eparchy monastery
Metropolitan Victor tonsured two sisters of the monastery in Zavaliiky into monasticism.
Patriarch of Serbia urges world leaders to protect Serbs in Kosovo
The Primate of the Serbian Church called on the heads of world powers to stop the expulsion of believers from Kosovo and protect more than a thousand Orthodox shrines from destruction.