UOC-MP complains about Kyiv Cave Monastery ban
Access to the Upper (Near Caves) and Lower (Far Caves) Lavra will be be suspended due to the work of a commission that will estimate the level of preservation of "cultural values," according to a letter from the National Kyiv-Pechersk Historic-Cultural Preserve received by the UOC-MP on March 20.
Access to the Church of the Exaltation of Cross, the Church of the Conception of St. Anne, and the Church of All Saints will also be denied.
"That is, praying in these churches will be impossible," the official UOC-MP statement reads.
Read also: Russian patriarch complains to Pope, UN about ‘illegal expulsion’ of monks from Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
Read also: Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra to host services in Ukrainian as Epiphanius vows monastery will remain open
Ukraine’s Culture Ministry announced on March 10 that UOC-MP has to vacate the premises of the Kyiv Cave Monastery by March 29. The UOC-MP, in turn, called the statement an “ultimatum from Culture Ministry officials” that lacked legal justification.
The State Audit Service of Ukraine conducted an inspection of the Kyiv Cave Monastery National Reserve, which revealed the illegal transfer of cultural heritage monuments and 36 illegal new buildings, Ukrainian news website LB.ua reported.
On Jan. 1, Kyiv Cave Monastery National Reserve terminated its lease agreements with UOC-MP for religious buildings on the territory of the Upper Lavra.
On Jan. 7, for the first time, Ukrainian Orthodox Church head, Metropolitan Epiphanius, performed a Christmas service at the Assumption Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery.
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