Metropolitan Сlement: OCU needs the Lavra only as a trophy
Any attempts to take away the Kyiv-Pecherskaya Lavra from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are considered only as a crime, Metropolitan Clement of Nizhyn and Pryluky said in an interview with the Klymenko Tyme channel.
"The Lavra has belonged to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church since the times when no one heard about the OCU or any other organizations and did not know that they would arise," the hierarch noted.
Vladyka also noted that the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is a monastery where a lot of monastics work. They pray continuously for the whole world, as do the inhabitants of more than 300 monasteries of the UOC, located all over Ukraine.
"If we talk about the OCU, they don't physically have as many monks living in at least the monasteries they already have. According to statistics, there are 2 monks for each of their monasteries, therefore, if 5 or 10 monks live in one of them, some monasteries remain without monastics at all. The OCU needs the Lavra only as a trophy to mock the religious feelings of the UOC believers. I do not think that it is a sensible policy to arrange such experiments," Metropolitan Clement said.
As reported, Epifaniy Dumenko met with the German ambassador to Ukraine to discuss the fate of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
Read also
Shevchuk tells Budanov of UGCC’s “state-building role”
The head of the Uniates told the head of the Presidential Office that his Church was ready to partner with the state and presented him with a book on the work of special services in the Church.
Authorities decline to disclose Ukraine’s population size
The State Statistics Service acknowledged that it has up-to-date population estimates for the country, but has decided not to make them public.
Lithuanian govt vows to protect Orthodox Church from Russian intelligence
Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry has called for curbing the influence of Russian intelligence services on the Church, while an adviser to President Nausėda warned against labeling the entire structure a security threat.
During Ramadan, Patriarch Theodoros hosts Islamic iftar at his residence
Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria hosted a meal for Muslim workers breaking their fast in the courtyard of the Patriarchate and thanked a sheikh for his “brotherhood.”
Lawsuit filed against Patriarch of Constantinople
A Turkish official has accused Patriarch Bartholomew and dozens of clergy of “illegal activity” and violating the Treaty of Lausanne.
OCU cleric buried with Church Slavonic funeral shroud
In the Ternopil Eparchy of the OCU, a cleric was buried under a funeral shroud bearing inscriptions in Church Slavonic.