MinCult reports "derussification” of frescoes in Lavra’s Assumption Cathedral

Fresco in the UOC Assumption Cathedral. Photo: Vitaliy Nosach

Acting Director of the “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra” Reserve Svitlana Kotliarevska announced the destruction of part of the frescoes in the Assumption Cathedral.

According to her, the restoration and painting of the cathedral “took place under strong Muscovite influence, when the Lavra was run by the UOC (MP).” Therefore, “images of leaders of the then Moscow Patriarchate Church appeared here, who immortalized themselves by placing their likenesses next to depictions of the historic sacred figures of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra – the Venerable Fathers.”

“If we change the corresponding frescoes and leave only those who truly ought to be there, this can become a wonderful example of the visible derussification of the Assumption Cathedral,” Kotliarevska stated, adding that she is seeking sponsors for this work.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that, according to former reserve director Maksym Ostapenko, the frescoes of the Assumption Cathedral in the Lavra had been prepared in anticipation of occupation.

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