Ostapenko responds if Lavra fresco of Seraphim of Sarov will be painted over

Fresco of Seraphim of Sarov in the Dormition Cathedral of the Lavra. Photo: screenshot from YouTube channel "Real History"

Maksym Ostapenko, head of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Reserve, told Akim Halimov of the Real History project whether the authorities intend to destroy the frescoes in the Dormition Cathedral depicting saints of Rus’.

According to Ostapenko, Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, St. Ioasaph of Belgorod, Kuksha of Odesa, Jonah of Kyiv, and other saints “violate the design” of the church’s murals, are “patrons of Russian weapons,” and their images were painted in the Dormition Cathedral in 2021 with the sole purpose of “properly welcoming the Russian liberators in Russian style.”

Asked by Halimov why the frescoes should not be painted over immediately, Ostapenko explained that such action requires permission from the Ministry of Culture. According to him, “this painting is material evidence, visual proof of how the Moscow Patriarchate marked the space of the Lavra already in the 2020s.”

The official admitted the possibility that the frescoes may not be destroyed but preserved for display “to show how Moscow zombification worked.”

“In any case, what should be done remains an open question for now,” Ostapenko said.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that, according to Ostapenko, the murals in the Dormition Cathedral of the Lavra were allegedly intended as preparation for occupation.

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