“OCU Lavra abbot” claims UOC monks “betrayed” relics of Venerable Fathers

“OCU Lavra abbot” Avrahamiy Lotysh. Photo: OCU

In a Facebook post, the so-called “abbot of the Lavra” appointed by the OCU, Avrahamiy Lotysh, claimed that when the authorities granted access to Serhiy Dumenko (Epifaniy) and his clergy to the Far Caves of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra on July 23, 2025, they saw something “terrifying.” Lotysh accused the brethren of the Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery of “abandoning” the relics of the Pechersk saints and essentially “betraying” them.

“For two years, the holy relics were simply abandoned... We were not allowed into the holy caves, and I’m frightened to even speak of what we saw... I can say only one thing. The venerable fathers are sorrowful and in pain watching how those who for 30 years venerated them and urged others to do the same have now forgotten their duties,” claimed the former monk of the monastery.

He then proceeded to lecture those whom he himself had previously betrayed. Addressing the monks of the Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery – who have been barred from the caves for several months by state authorities – he declared: “Betrayal begins where the fire of love grows cold.”

“Ministry is a sacrifice, not a convenience. The work of the Lord is not an official post or social role,” added the “OCU Lavra abbot” and staff member of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve.

Avrahamiy concluded his lengthy musings with a message to state officials, the Ministry of Culture, and the Lavra Reserve, urging them to take “confident and consistent steps toward restoring regular liturgical services in the caves.”

As the UOJ previously reported, on March 28, 2025, a commission from the Ministry of Culture, accompanied by police, began operations in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. They used power tools to cut off and replace the locks on the doors leading to the Near Caves and entered the premises. Soon after, the same fate befell the Far Caves. This marked the de facto seizure by the state of one of the most venerated holy sites of the Orthodox world – the relics of the Venerable Fathers of the Kyiv Caves.

Since 2023, when the state announced the “return” of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra to itself, officials seized several monastery buildings where the brethren had resided but initially left the caves untouched. As of August 10, 2023, believers were no longer allowed onto the monastery grounds, though access to the relics of the Pechersk saints remained possible through paid excursions. The keys to the caves remained with the monks, who continued to care for the relics, re-clothing them in prayer and maintaining order.

This was a full-scale seizure of both the Near and Far Caves of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, followed by the Ministry of Culture’s “studies” into the “historical and scientific value of the relics” of the Pechersk saints – an act of blatant sacrilege by the Ukrainian government.

Moreover, one of the OCU-affiliated media outlets claimed that clergy of the OCU were taking part in the Ministry of Culture’s commission for the “examination” of the relics.

These so-called “scientific investigations” at the Lavra have been condemned by representatives of Mount Athos, Greece, the United States, the Serbian Church, the Bulgarian Church, Jerusalem, and others.

Read also