UOC responds to transfer of Lower Lavra buildings to OCU

Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. Photo: Monastery's Telegram

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has commented on a statement by Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy and Minister of Culture of Ukraine, Tetiana Berezhna, regarding the so-called “logic” of taking religious buildings from UOC believers and transferring them to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

As the UOC press service reported, citing Interfax-Ukraine, on February 2, 2026, in a broadcast of the national telemarathon, Berezhna said that Ukraine is a secular state and that the Ministry of Culture allegedly acts “not according to confessional logic, but according to the logic of law, responsibility, and the object’s compliance with its historical and functional purpose.”

Her remarks came as the Ministry of Culture transferred two buildings (No. 49 and No. 70) on the territory of the Lower Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra to the OCU for free use. The UOC emphasized that the Lower Lavra has remained closed to pilgrims for nearly three years.

At the same time, the UOC’s Information and Education Department pointed out that the official did not explain how a religious organization created in 2019 can correspond to the historical and functional purpose of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra – a shrine with a thousand-year history, which, as the UOC stressed, has been inseparably connected precisely with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Speaking about the agreement with the National Preserve Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Preserve, Berezhna said it allegedly provides benefits for the preserve, for the religious community, and for the state as a whole. However, the Minister of Culture did not voice any specific mechanisms for implementing these claims.

In addition, the Deputy Prime Minister stated that the state “must work only with those communities that operate within the legal framework and contribute to the preservation of monuments.” At the same time, she accused the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of improperly maintaining the Lavra’s buildings and of the appearance of new construction on its territory, without providing any evidence or specific examples.

The UOC stressed that such statements sound especially strange in the absence of any examples showing that OCU communities are able to preserve and restore monuments of sacred art more effectively – many of which, the Church noted, had previously ended up in the emergency condition precisely during periods of state management.

As the UOJ reported, earlier the UOC commented on footage of churches in Ukraine that are falling into ruin.

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