Court denies Russian-controlled church access to Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
The court rejected the request by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) to hold services in the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery, Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko said on June 13.
According to the minister, the decision was announced at a hearing of the Economic Court of the city of Kyiv.
"We have our first, and I believe not last, victory at court in the case of returning the property of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra to the state," Tkachenko wrote on Telegram.
He added that the UOC-MP's representatives did not come to the hearing and submitted motions for postponement, which the court rejected.
The Russian-controlled church's lease on the part of the Lavra, including the main Dormition Cathedral, expired on Jan. 1. The monastery was returned to the state ownership on Jan. 5 upon a recommendation by the Culture Ministry.
The Moscow Patriarchate clergy has repeatedly refused to vacate the premises and blocked access to the authorities.
The UOC-MP has faced backlash due to its long-standing ties to Russia, as well as Russian passports, anti-Ukrainian propaganda, and stolen icons during nationwide raids on its religious sites.
Metropolitan Pavlo (Petro Lebid), the UOC-MP's abbot of the Pechersk Lavra Monastery, was charged on April 1 with "inciting inter-religious hatred and justifying Russia's armed aggression" and put under house arrest.
Anastasiia Lapatina
