“These are our premises”: Reserve is set to seal other Lavra buildings
Ostapenko and his deputy came to seal the remaining buildings of the Kyiv Caves Lavra.
On August 10, 2023, representatives of the reserve came with the police to seal the remaining buildings of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. The video was posted on the Lavra Now telegram channel. “Godless vultures are already near Building 54,” the message says.
Acting Director of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Reserve Maxym Ostapenko and his deputy Oleksandr Ovchar approached the 54th building, where the pilgrims and several monks of the brethren live.
“What are you standing here for? These are our premises,” Ovchar told the believers who were reading prayers in front of the building. The people replied that the court's decision on the dispute between the monastery and the reserve had not entered into force, and therefore Ostapenko and Ovchar had nothing to do there. The pilgrims called them Bolsheviks, who act like Russian invaders. A woman from the reserve team tried to break inside, but they did not let her in. The commission left empty-handed.
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the UOC protested against the intentions of the Ministry of Culture to seal the buildings of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
