Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Blocked by Police and Armed Forces – Reports

Ukrainian authorities previously ordered monks of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) to leave the monastery, warning that in case of refusal, they would be taken to trial to make an appropriate decision to remove obstacles to the reserve in the use of property.

Military and police arrived at the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra on Sunday before checking documents of the parishioners, reported the Union of Orthodox Journalists.

"Today, at the entrance to the monastery, the police again checked the documents of the parishioners. Later, a bus arrived at the Lavra, from which the servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine got out. They are now standing in a group near the entrance. It doesn't look like a pilgrimage," the union's statement said in Telegram.

Tensions between Kiev and the canonical UOC escalated after Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine in February 2022.

UOC monks were ordered to leave the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, jurisdiction over which was divided between the National Kiev-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Preserve, a Ukrainian cultural organization, and the UOC, by March 29 for allegedly violating the terms of the lease.

Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko said the monks could stay in the Lavra if they joined the non-canonical Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Lavra monks have said the unilateral eviction order was illegal and requires a court decision.

In April, Tkachenko said that the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture had formed a commission to look into the use of state property pertaining to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.

On June 6, he said that the commission for accepting and transferring of state property of the Ukrainian Culture Ministry has completed its work in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.

"Yesterday, June 5, 2023, the commission of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy for accepting and transferring of state property of the [Kiev-Pechersk] Lavra completed its work and signed with the reserve an act of acceptance and transfer of the property of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve, which confirmed the transfer of property for use by the reserve," Tkachenko wrote on Telegram.

The reserve ordered UOC monks to leave the monastery within three days, the minister said. In turn, the head of the UOC's Synodal Information and Education Department, Metropolitan Clement, said that Tkachenko's statement did not have any legal force.