Ancient Kyiv Pechersk Lavra to be divided between Ukraine’s rival church factions?
Petition to transfer religious site to Kyiv Patriarchate gathers more than 10,000 signatures
A long drawn out dispute may be on the horizon between two rival factions of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. More than 10,000 signatures have been collected in favor of transferring the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, one of the best-known historical attractions in the country, over to the Kyiv Patriarchate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves, is currently in the possession of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
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Both of these churches are adherents of Russian Orthodoxy and share the same beliefs. But the Kyiv and Moscow patriarchy represent different sides of Ukraine’s divided political environment. The idea to transfer the nearly 1000-year-old World Heritage Site is not being taken lightly by the Moscow Patriarchate.
Klyment, Bishop of Moscow Patriarchate of Ukrainian Orthodox Church: “When the new power came, the Soviet power, it was the start of the so-called terror. It all started with the closing down of churches and provocations. That’s what we see today in the form of this petition.”
Nearly 70 percent of Ukrainians are of Orthodox faith, close to 15 million people belong to the Kyiv Patriarchate, and at least 10 million belong to the Moscow Patriarchate, according to the Christian Science Monitor. The petition to transfer the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra to the Kyiv Patriarchate has not been welcomed by everyone. These parishioners had this to say:
“The church has canon laws and you can’t just do what you want, take the store because it’s owned by Muscovites?”
“I support that the churches on the territory be divided between the factions.”
“How do I explain this? Would you give away your own house?”
The conflict in east Ukraine between combined Russian-insurgent forces and Ukrainian troops has only been fueling the antagonism between the two churches in Ukraine. During the regime of disgraced pro-Kremlin President Viktor Yanukovych the ruling elite had been under pressure to be a parishoner of the Moscow Patriarchate. Yanukovych also reportedly put the Kyiv patriarchate under pressure and created problems for the church.
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Now the Kyiv Patriarchate says the petition to transfer the Lavra is likely to stoke hostility between churchgoers.
Archevstratiy Zorya, Archbishop of Kyiv Patriarchate of Ukrainian Orthodox Church: “As a church we are not interested in fomenting interdenominational conflicts. We are seeing that ever since the Euromaidan revolution, Russia and pro-Russian forces have been attempting to sow religious hatred.”
In the Ministry of Culture there are no plans to hand over the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra just yet. But according to a ministry official over 50 churches belonging to the Moscow Patriarchate have switched to the Kyiv Patriarchate since the start of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
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