Confrontations in Kyiv Lavra: How Moscow Patriarchate is leaving the shrine and how long it can last

In addition, they continue to unsuccessfully argue that they are separate from the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). Nevertheless, Pavlo Lebid and co. are actively supported "in the swamps" – from Lavrov to Moscow Muslim leaders. Espreso has collected and analyzed what exactly is happening around the Lavra and why, as well as what we can expect in the near future. 

What preceded the current events

The Kyiv Cave Monastery of the Assumption was built in the 11th century and is one of the largest monastery complexes and Christian centres in Ukraine. After World War II, worship and monastic life were suspended and resumed in 1988. In 2000, the Assumption Cathedral, which was destroyed in 1941, was rebuilt. For 35 years, the Lavra was at the disposal of the UOC-Moscow Patriarchate. During this time, the Russian Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church and Putin's henchman Kirill Gundyaev was honourably received here, and militants for Girkin were trained. For example, the monastery's bell ringer, Serhiy Zhurikov, and others became pro-Russian militants and fought against Ukraine.

A new round of confrontation began in 2019, when the Orthodox Church of Ukraine received the Tomos, and the UOC-MP, on the contrary, broke off relations with the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate. Since then, priests and laity have begun to move from the pro-Russian denomination to the OCU. By the way, according to open sources, between December 2018 and March 2023, 1236 religious communities and monasteries announced their transition.

Returning to the shrine itself, during these decades of using the Lavra, the UOC-MP did not own the complex, but only rented it. In 2023, the Kyiv Cave Monastery National Reserve did not extend the lease agreements to the representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate. First, they stopped using the Upper Lavra. On January 7, the first Christmas service of the OCU in the Assumption Cathedral was held here by the Primate of the Church, Metropolitan Epifaniy. And now the lease of the Lower Lavra, which houses the monastery, has also expired.

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Expulsion of the Moscow Patriarchate from the Lavra

No matter how "hearty" and "homely" the monks lived in the Lavra, they were warned that the time would come to move out. Thus, on March 10 this year, the UOC-MP received a warning from the State Reserve about the termination of the lease agreement. Representatives of the pro-Russian denomination were informed that they had to move out by March 29. Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkachenko cited illegal construction on the territory of the monastery as the reason for the termination of the agreement. The State Audit Service counted 36 illegal structures on the territory of the monastery.

The main representatives of the UOC-MP disagreed with this decision and even came to appeal to the president's conscience. On March 20, members of the Holy Synod, led by Metropolitan Onufriy, came to seek a meeting with Zelenskyy, but they were denied; the meeting took place only with officials from the President's office. Representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate staged a "street stand," but were forced to leave Bankova Street due to an air raid alarm. On March 23, the Synod of the UOC-MP stated that it would defend the Kyiv Cave Monastery "by all legal means" and would not leave its territory after March 29.

The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra was registered as a monastery with the OCU on December 1, 2022. On March 29, just as the Moscow Patriarchate was about to leave the shrine, the head of the OCU, Epifaniy, introduced the new acting Abbot of the Lavra. It was Abraham (Lotysh), who had previously been a sacristan in the UOC-MP monastery. He called on the monks to move under the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Church, i.e. the OCU. By the way, there are between 100 and 200 monks and clergymen of the UOC-MP on the territory of the Lavra, of whom 15% are ready to join the OCU, the same number radically support Moscow, and the rest have taken a wait-and-see attitude. 

The reaction of former associates was lightning fast. Abraham, who was one of Onufriy's closest associates and received many awards from him, was banned from ministry. He has already been accused of "falling into schism" and "gross violation of the oath of a clergyman." Such a punishment was not imposed on any of the collaborators of the UOC-MP or those who joined the ROC.  

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The Moscow Patriarchate does not give up

Despite all the vicissitudes, the pro-Russian monks are in no hurry to leave the Ukrainian shrine, although they have been taking their belongings out of the Lavra for more than a week. According to journalists, everything was taken from the church, including icons. 

On March 29, the Moscow Patriarchate gathered its supporters on the territory of the reserve and held a liturgy. And the former head of the Lavra, Pavlol Lebid, better known as Pasha Mercedes, recorded a video with threats to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

On March 30, a commission for the acceptance and transfer of state property arrived at the reserve. However, it was unable to begin its work. "Representatives of the Monastery from the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, who are members of the Commission, could not explain who has the keys to the building, which was scheduled to be inspected. In addition, numerous unidentified persons prevented members of the Commission from entering the building," wrote Culture Minister Tkachenko. According to him, the commission will continue its work on the territory of the reserve anyway.

Journalists who tried to cover the events were also received on the territory of the Kyiv Cave Monastery in a completely unchristian manner. The former abbot of the Lavra, Lebid, knocked the microphone away from an Espreso journalist and promised to beat the press with a stick. Earlier, he had cursed journalists. Other people in cassocks tried to damage the cameras. As a result, the police opened proceedings on the fact of obstructing the professional activities of journalists near the Lavra.

On March 31, representatives of the UOC-MP for the second time did not allow the commission of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy to enter the Kyiv Cave Monastery.

What's next for the Moscow Patriarchate?

In any case, neither the monks nor Pavlo Lebid will be left homeless. A few weeks ago, the abbot of the Bancheny Monastery, the odious Metropolitan Longin (Mykhailo Zhar), invited all the brethren to move to Bukovyna. Although the MP representatives emphasise that they have no intention of moving out of the reserve. 

They have no legal grounds to stay on the territory of the Kyiv Cave Monastery. A lawsuit filed by the UOC-MP to delay the issue has not yielded any results, as the court rejected the Moscow Patriarchate's claim that the unilateral termination of the agreement was legal. In addition, on March 30, the government invalidated a 2013 order of the Yanukovych-era Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on the transfer of buildings and structures on the territory of the Lavra to the monastery for free use.

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The question now is how the UOC-MP will implement and comply with the law. After all, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov assured that no force would be used against representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate, and they have a long history of ignoring Ukrainian law, from unauthorised construction to failure to comply with the law on renaming themselves the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine or collaboration.

According to political scientist Viktor Taran, tactically, the current events are already a victory for the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. However, in order to consolidate this victory, the following steps need to be taken:

"The OCU should receive a lease agreement from the state for the use of the Lavra for at least 50 years, populate the cells with monks and ministers, and the transition process should be covered in the media as much as possible. Experts should explain the historicity of the process and its importance in the spiritual confrontation with Moscow.

And lastly. The state should initiate the next step – to initiate the process of returning the Pochayiv Lavra. At the same time, the Ukrainian Security Service should work with FSB agents inside the UOC-MP," the political scientist said in the post.