The head of the Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv said on Monday that he and other monks of the monastery have no intention of leaving the territory of the monastery, Kyiv Independent reports.

On March 10, the Ministry of Culture issued a statement that monks of the Ukrainian branch of the Russian Orthodox Church must leave the Pechersk Lavra (“Pecherska” means “cave”) in Kyiv, the most important Orthodox monastery in Ukraine.

“We are not collaborators,” said the Primate of the Lavra, Metropolitan Pavlo Lebid.

“We are citizens of our country, people who have been living (in the monastery) since 1988. Many of us have no place to be but here. No one can separate us from God’s love,” he said.

The Russian-controlled church’s lease for part of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, called the Upper Lavra, expired on January 1, and the Ukrainian government decided not to renew the lease.

Later, the Ukrainian authorities announced that on March 29 they would also terminate the indefinite lease of the remaining part, the Lower Lavra, of the Russian-linked church, accusing it of violating the terms of the lease.

The Russian-backed church argued that the termination of the lease was illegal.

Since January, the Ukrainian government has allowed the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is independent from Russia, to hold more services in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. There is an assumption that the authorities may finally transfer the Lavra to the UOC.

Lebyd, pro-Russian messages and denial of Ukraine’s statehood

On December 2, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi also imposed sanctions against the abbot of the Pechersk Lavra and former deputy from the pro-Russian Party of Regions Lebid.

Lebid held consistent pro-Russian views and called for “unity” with Russia. He also stated that “Crimea was never Ukrainian.”

In November, social media users shared a video in which a priest of the Moscow Patriarchate sings a prayer for “Mother Russia” together with parishioners of one of the Lavra churches. Later, the priest was suspended by the Moscow church.

The Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv, founded in 1051, is one of the first monasteries of Kyivan Rus. It belonged to the Ukrainian branch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople until 1688, when it was annexed by the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Russian patriarch wrote to Pope Francis and other religious leaders of the world

Patriarch Kirill I of Moscow, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, appealed to Pope Francis and other religious leaders on Saturday to persuade Ukraine to end its crackdown on the historic wing of the church that sides with Russia, Reuters reported.

Pope Francis, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the head of the Coptic Church in Egypt, Pope Tawadros, as well as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk are among the many leaders who have addressed.

Patriarch Kirill I called on religious leaders and international organizations “to make every effort to prevent the forced closure of the monastery, which will lead to the violation of the rights of millions of Ukrainian believers,” according to a statement cited by Agerpres.

The Patriarch of Moscow strongly supported the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops. BOU says he has severed ties with Russia and the Moscow Patriarchate and is the victim of a political witch hunt.

Since October, the Security Service of Ukraine has periodically raided BOU churches, imposed sanctions on bishops and financiers, and initiated criminal cases against dozens of clergymen.

The majority of Ukrainian Orthodox believers belong to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which was formed four years ago by the union of branches independent of Moscow authorities.

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