Head of Lavra Reserve: I believe UOC monks will move to the OCU

Head of the Lavra Reserve Ostapenko. Photo: FB page of the reserve

The head of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Preserve, Maksym Ostapenko, says he expects the monks of the UOC Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra to transfer to the OCU. He stated this in an interview with Glavcom.

“A contract is being prepared with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine for the permanent presence of OCU representatives here,” Ostapenko said. “Before this, they were already in fact present here, but it was not formalized legally. There were only temporary agreements. I hope this will allow us, as a preserve, to cooperate more effectively with the monastic community of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine headed by Bishop Avraamiy. I believe that all the monks who are in the UOC–MP and understand their responsibility before the people will carry out their mission under Bishop Avraamiy.”

“We proceed from the fact that the agreement with the UOC monastery has already been terminated, so we are gradually taking over the servicing of the entire Lavra territory,” the head of the preserve said.

Ostapenko stated that the monastic community of the UOC Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra currently numbers 140 people.

According to him, a Ministry of Culture commission is still working in the Lavra caves to inspect the relics. Ostapenko said it was created “after rumors that allegedly part of the relics was being illegally taken somewhere, that some saints were missing a hand, and so on.”

“The commission’s work is already coming to an end. I think that in about three months we should see clear and understandable results. My task is to ensure full, high-quality access to the Lavra caves in the first half of 2026,” he said.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the reserve replaced plaques with saints’ names in the Lavra caves with Ukrainian-language ones.

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