Archimandrite of Kiev-Pechersk Lavra moved from UOC to OCU

Metropolitan Epiphanius, primate of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), has appointed Archimandrite Avraamy (Lotysh) as acting vicar of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. This happened on March 29, the last day before the monastery of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (formerly the Moscow Patriarchate), by decision of the Ukrainian authorities, had to leave the Lavra.
Abraham belongs to the brothers of the monastery. March 29 he turned to Epiphanius with a statement on the transition to the OCU , after which he was appointed acting governor of the OCU monastery in the territory of the Lavra – it exists legally, but not yet in fact. He suggested that the monks of the Lavra remaining under the jurisdiction of the UOC follow his example.
Epiphany appealed to the authorities with a request to provide premises on the territory of the Lavra for the worship and accommodation of the brothers of the monastery of the OCU being created. Earlier, he also called on the UOC monks to move to the OCU – in which case, according to him, they will be able to stay in the Lavra.
On Wednesday evening, it became known that Metropolitan Onufry of the UOC had banned Archimandrite Avraamy from serving in the transition to the OCU. This church is considered non-canonical in the UOC, accusing it of schism. In turn, OCU supporters accuse the UOC of ties to Moscow, pointing out that although it declared independence from the ROC after the Russian invasion of Ukraine , it was by no means. legally formalized – the UOC did not receive autocephaly and did not request it. The Ukrainian authorities also consider that the UOC is still associated with the Patriarchate of Moscow.
On March 29, in the Holy Cross Church on the territory of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, last UOC service in the presence of hundreds of believers. Ukrainian authorities earlier obligatory Monastery of the UOC to leave the territory and buildings of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra until March 29 after the state reserve “Kiev-Pechersk Lavra” refused the lease contract with the UOC. The UOC claims to have filed a lawsuit and has no intention of leaving the Lavra until the proceedings are completed. Secretary of the Council for National Security and Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov said on Wednesday that the UOC monks would not be forcibly expelled from the Lavra – in his view, they themselves would leave “slowly ” the territory.