Political analyst on the pantheon in the Lavra: Zelensky wants to strike at the Church as painfully as possible
According to Bondarenko, there is no necessity to place the pantheon specifically in the Lavra — the president is guided by cynicism and a desire to wound believers.
There is no state necessity to place the National Pantheon on the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. This was stated in an exclusive comment to the UOJ by political analyst Kost Bondarenko.
"This is primarily about committing yet another act directed against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, against canonical Orthodoxy in Ukraine. It was not enough to expel the Church, not enough to have sacrilegious acts such as rock concerts in the Refectory Church. Now they have finally decided to create a pantheon on the territory of an Orthodox monastery, which is a sacred site for the entire Orthodox world, and not only for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church," Bondarenko stated.
He emphasized that European countries have never built pantheons in sacred sites.
"If a state wants to build a pantheon, it starts from scratch, as was the case, for example, in Paris. The French chose for the Panthéon not the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, but a building on the left bank, in the Latin Quarter. Nearby, incidentally, is a church in which Saint Geneviève is buried — but the pantheon is not located at the site of her burial. Therefore, in this situation, it is exclusively a matter of Zelensky simply wanting to deal yet another painful blow to the Church," the expert noted.
According to him, the head of state is guided not by political motives, but by personal animosity toward the Church.
"Zelensky is a deeply atheistic person, belonging to no confession. He acts guided solely by his own cynicism, striving to strike Ukrainian Orthodoxy as painfully as possible," Bondarenko said.
At the same time, the political analyst doubts that the pantheon will be built at all: it is technically impossible, and in his view the project has two real goals.
"The first is the appropriation of budget funds, the second is what he considers a slap in the face to the Church. The money will be allocated and will disappear into pockets — just as happened with the university that Zelensky was planning to build," the expert concluded.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that former MP Ihor Mosiychuk stated: the decision to build the pantheon in the Lavra was made personally by Zelensky, and the construction will lead to the destruction of the shrine.
