Religious scholar explains what awaits the nuns of Korets Convent
Liudmyla Fylypovych admitted that closing the Korets Monastery of the UOC will be difficult, even despite the DESS decision declaring its “affiliation with the Russian Orthodox Church.”
Commenting for Suspilne on the decision of the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) to terminate the activities of the Korets Holy Trinity Convent, DESS expert and religious scholar Liudmyla Fylypovych said that a full closure would be problematic.
She noted that the monastery’s connection with the ROC has been known for over 30 years:
“Since 1992, the Korets Holy Trinity Convent has identified itself as a structural part of the Russian Orthodox Church. […] Another question is what to do about it. Because simply shutting down the monastery, most likely, will not work,” she said.
According to Fylypovych, the state may revoke the monastery’s registration as a religious organization, depriving it of privileges and rental rights. However, the nuns would still be able to continue their monastic life supported by donations.
“The monastery’s activity can be stopped – for example, by forcibly removing the nuns. Obviously, no one will do that. But the state can revoke its registration as a religious organization. Then it will be unable to rent premises or receive utility benefits. Yet the monastery could continue to function, living on donations. The state has no clear answer to this issue – just as it has no answer regarding the forty monks who still live in the lower caves of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra,” the DESS expert said.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that MP Solomiia Bobrovska, speaking at a session of the Verkhovna Rada, accused the nuns of the Korets Convent of “wearing epaulettes.”
