Reserve seizes St. Anna's Conception Church from UOC in Lavra

St. Anna's Conception Church at the Far Caves of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. Photo: lavra.ua

On May 12, 2026, employees of the National Reserve cut off the locks and forcibly seized St. Anna's Conception Church at the Far Caves of the Lower Lavra.

As Archpriest Nikita Chekman reported on his Telegram channel, museum representatives took this step despite the fact that court proceedings between the monastery and the state over the right to use the Lavra buildings are still ongoing. The courts have not yet issued final rulings in the relevant disputes.

The lawyer pointed to the particular cynicism of the reserve employees’ actions. They took advantage of the absence of people on the premises and broke the locks without any official notice. Some time after access to the shrine had been blocked, the reserve sent letters to the monastery claiming that the brethren had allegedly removed their belongings voluntarily.

“Any unilateral actions to change the actual use of churches and premises while a court dispute remains unresolved must be carried out exclusively in the manner and within the limits provided by law, with respect for the rule of law and the judicial process,” Archpriest Nikita Chekman stressed.

According to the lawyer, such actions not only contradict the principles of the rule of law and respect for the judicial process, “but also offend the feelings of believers, for whom the shrines of the Lavra hold special spiritual significance.”

Earlier, the UOJ reported that a TRC detained an archimandrite of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv.

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