Blogger comments on DESS demand that Pochaiv Lavra break ties with UOC

Blogger Valentyna Ilyina and the Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra. Photo: UOJ collage

On July 31, 2026, blogger Valentina Ilyina commented on a directive issued by the DESS requiring Pochaiv Lavra to withdraw from the structure of the Kyiv Metropolia of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and amend its statutory documents. She discussed the issue in a video posted on her Facebook page.

Under the directive, the monastery has been given 30 days to remedy what the agency describes as violations. The Lavra is required to decide to leave the structure of the Kyiv Metropolia of the UOC, remove from its charter any indications of affiliation with the Church, and confirm that it has severed the ties which the authorities consider to be in violation of the law.

"How can a monastery cease to be part of its Church and still remain a monastery?" Ilyina asked. She stressed that monasteries do not exist independently of their eparchy, metropolitan, and Local Church, meaning that the authorities' demands touch upon the very foundations of the Church's canonical structure.

The blogger also drew attention to the requirement that the abbot declare his disagreement with his appointment to governing bodies of the Russian Orthodox Church and sever those ties. According to Ilyina, if the state has evidence of specific legal violations or criminal offenses, it should investigate them rather than require a clergyman to make ecclesiastical declarations.

Ilyina added that, during a full-scale war, the authorities should focus on defending the country, supporting service members, and combating corruption.

"I want to live in a state that respects the Constitution and freedom of conscience and does not try to resolve theological and canonical issues through administrative directives," she said.

As previously reported by the UOJ, DESS gave Pochaiv Lavra 30 days to sever its ties with the Kyiv Metropolia of the UOC.

Read also