Ostapenko: It is outrageous that UOC built new facilities in Lavra

Buildings of the Lower Lavra. Photo: Telegram channel "Lavra Now"

Maksym Ostapenko, Director General of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve, said he was “shocked” by the construction carried out in the monastery during the years when the UOC monastery was based there. He made the remarks in an interview with OCU-affiliated journalist Sonia Koshkina on the LB Live channel.

“I still cannot believe how it happened that, before the eyes of all Ukrainian society, 17 illegal permanent structures appeared on the territory of the Lower Lavra over the past couple of decades,” the official said.

According to him, this “appalling activity” by Lavra abbot Metropolitan Pavel “outraged all of Ukrainian society,” and it was because of this, as well as the monks’ alleged “ideological, pro-Russian position,” that the state terminated its agreement with the monastery. Ostapenko did not explain, however, why he is not similarly "outraged" by the government’s plans to build a National Pantheon in the Lavra.

At the same time, the reserve director acknowledged that Metropolitan Pavel is “an exceptionally capable administrator” and that all Lavra facilities are “indeed in good condition, properly maintained, and renovated.”

“From a technical standpoint, an enormous amount of work was carried out – that is an objective fact,” he noted.

As the UOJ reported, a criminal case has been opened against the National Reserve over the seizure of buildings in the Lavra.

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