OCU cleric criticizes Lavra concert blessed by Epifaniy

Left – concert outside the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra; right – illustration accompanying a post by OCU “Archimandrite” Sofroniy Chupryn. Photo: Facebook

On August 31, 2026, OCU “Archimandrite” Sofroniy Chupryna criticized the holding of a secular concert outside the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. He made the comments in a post on his Facebook page.

The criticism was prompted by the Symphony of the Lavra concert, held on August 29 with the blessing of OCU head Epifaniy Dumenko. The Academic Symphony Orchestra of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine performed in the square in front of the Dormition Cathedral. The concert marked the 975th anniversary of the Lavra’s founding, the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence and the centenary of the National Preserve, while the Lavra bell tower was incorporated into the performance of one of the pieces.

Chupryna recalled that for nearly a thousand years, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra had been a place of prayer and repentance. “For nearly a thousand years, prayer resounded in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. People came here seeking silence, repentance and God,” he wrote. According to him, the holy site, “steeped in the repentance, prayers, tears and sweat of the venerable fathers and devout pilgrims,” is now increasingly being used for concerts and secular events.

The OCU “archimandrite” stressed that music and applause are now heard at the holy site instead of prayer. “Instead of whispered prayers, there is now the applause of crowds and the sound of music. The contrast borders on outright disrespect for what this holy place has meant to generations,” Chupryna said. Organizers said the latest symphony concert was already the fourth such event held on the Lavra grounds.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Zelenskys attended an interfaith prayer service at St Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv.

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