The Ukrainian Ministry of Culture has filed a new complaint with the police against the monks of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) based in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra for "unlawful denial of access to a state property," the ministry reported on Telegram on Friday, as experts were unable to carry out an inspection for the second day in a row
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st March, 2023) The Ukrainian Ministry of Culture has filed a new complaint with the police against the monks of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) based in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra for "unlawful denial of access to a state property," the ministry reported on Telegram on Friday, as experts were unable to carry out an inspection for the second day in a row.
"The commission charged with receiving the state property owned by the National Kiev-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Preserve has failed to start work in Lavra again due to the opposition by the UOC-MP... The National Kiev-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Preserve has filed another complaint with the Pechersk Police Department of the Headquarters of the National Police of Ukraine in the city of Kiev for unlawful denial of access to a state property," the ministry's post on Telegram reads.
The commissioners could not start work, due to a locked door in one of the monastery's buildings. The keys given to them did not fit the lock, the officials said in an act filed with the ministry.
The commission was scheduled to start the acceptance procedure on March 30, 2023. However, the UOC states that it has no authority since no court decision has been issued yet.
The conflict around Kiev-Pechersk Lavra escalated after the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture terminated the lease agreement unilaterally, accusing the monks of violating the terms of the deal, and ordered them to leave the Lavra by March 29. Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko said the monks could stay if they joined the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). However, Metropolitan Bishop Pavel (Lebed), viceregent of the Lavra, said that no compromise was possible.
The Russian Orthodox Church says the UOC is a "self-governing church with the rights of broad autonomy" within the Moscow Patriarchate. However, in the wake of the military operation that Russia launched in Ukraine more than a year ago, the UOC said in May it was independent from the Moscow Patriarchate and did not support the conflict. In January, the Ukrainian government submitted a bill to parliament that seeks to ban the UOC in Ukraine if its connection with Russia is proven.
