DESS to examine Protection Monastery in Holosiiv for alleged links to ROC

Holy Protection Monastery "Holosiivska Pustyn". Photo: inok.info

On 23 January 2026, the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) announced the launch of a review procedure concerning the Holy Protection Monastery “Holosiiv Hermitage.” According to the agency’s order, a working group will begin examining materials related to the monastery’s activities starting on 26 January.

The review concerns a monastery of the Kyiv Metropolia of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, with the Service initiating an examination for possible signs of affiliation with the Russian Orthodox Church. DESS emphasizes that the review is of an investigative nature and is being conducted within the framework of current legislation. Any final conclusions, should they be reached, will be announced separately through official channels.

According to the Service’s documents, as early as July 2025 the monastery had been included on a list of religious organizations subject to additional scrutiny under orders aimed at addressing potential violations of legislation on freedom of conscience.

The Service also notes that attention to the monastery’s activities intensified after media publications in January 2026 reporting on the operation of a private school on the monastery’s premises. Representatives of the Orthodox school affiliated with the Holosiiv Monastery of the UOC state that it became the target of a public campaign following the release of a so-called “journalistic investigation” based on covert filming and manipulative claims. They insist that the accusations lack factual grounds and are being used to exert pressure on Orthodox education and believers.

DESS states that its actions are being carried out in observance of the principle of the presumption of innocence for religious organizations. The results of the review, if formally established, will be presented separately in accordance with the procedure set by law.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that Dumenko and Yelensky discussed preparations for the 975th anniversary of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

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