Ex-MP: Building a pantheon in the Lavra means destroying it

Constitution Day celebration at the Lavra. Photo: the Lavra Reserve

The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is facing destruction during the construction of the National Pantheon of Heroes, said former Member of Parliament of Ukraine Ihor Mosiychuk in an interview with MayiakUA, published on YouTube.

Mosiychuk emphasized that the site selected for construction is located directly on the Lavra grounds, which is under UNESCO protection. In his opinion, large-scale construction could damage the caves and other historical objects of the monument. "Nothing can be built there – not just a pantheon, nothing at all can be built," the politician stated.

In addition to the architectural aspect, the former deputy pointed to the spiritual dimension of the problem. Canonically, burial in a monastery is permissible only by decision of the brotherhood and for exceptional service to the Church. Among the likely participants of the pantheon, Mosiychuk named figures who belonged to the UGCC or other denominations, or had no connection to Orthodoxy, which, in his words, could provoke interfaith confrontation in society.

"God is not mocked, do you understand? What Zelensky is doing is the destruction of the third abode of the Most Holy Theotokos. And by destroying the third abode of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Soviet Jew Zelensky is also stirring up a wave of antisemitism in the country. You understand this: a Soviet Jew is destroying an Orthodox shrine. This could even lead to pogroms, give rise to a new Koliivshchyna," Mosyichuk stated.

According to him, the decision to build the pantheon in the Lavra belongs personally to Zelensky.

As the UOJ reported, the Verkhovna Rada passed a law on the National Pantheon, providing for its placement on the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. The Cabinet of Ministers revealed details of the pantheon construction in the Lavra.

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