DESS begins checking Pochaiv Lavra for ties to ROC
Viktor Yelensky signed an order to conduct a study into whether Pochaiv Lavra is affiliated with a religious organization banned in Ukraine.
The State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) has launched a procedure to inspect the Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra. According to Order No. N-106/11, a research group is to identify signs of the monastery’s connection with a foreign religious organization whose activities are prohibited by law in Ukraine, the DESS website reports.
Viktor Yelensky instructed that all necessary notifications be prepared by June 23, while officials will begin directly examining the Lavra’s documents and activities the following day. The inspection was prompted by an internal memo from the deputy head of the Department for Religious Affairs, and the head of the agency retained personal oversight of the process.
DESS said it is acting under Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 543, adopted in May 2025, which sets out the procedure for identifying signs of “subordination” of religious communities to foreign centers.
As the UOJ reported, DESS recognized the Holosiiv Monastery as affiliated with the ROC.
