Metropolitan Pavel, vice-manager of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, threatened Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his family with God’s retribution for expelling the monks from the monastery. Video message from the priest published in the telegram channel of the Strana.ua edition.
“I will tell you, Mr. President, and your whole pack, our tears will not fall to the ground, they will all fall on your head. Today you think that by coming to power on our backs, you can do this to us. The Lord will not forgive you or your family for this act. Because today you threw 220 brothers in the street,” said Pavel.
The Lavra Governor noted that Zelensky was unable to meet with the Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) Onufry.
“You couldn’t stop the Minister of Culture, who is obsessed with rage, anger and hatred, which means he does everything with your permission. Woe to you. To fear! Metropolitan Pavel addressed Zelensky.
The conflict around the Laura
The Kiev-Pechersk Holy Dormition Lavra consists of the Upper and Lower Lavra. The lower part, where the monastery and the caves with relics are located, is under the jurisdiction of the UOC. Le Haut is considered a national historical and cultural reserve and is administered by the Ministry of Culture.
The Ukrainian authorities accuse the UOC-MP of being pro-Russian. In March, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra reserve announced the termination of the agreement with the UOC on the use of the Lower Lavra, as violations were revealed in the activities of the monastery. The monks had to leave The clergy received the order to leave Lavra before March 29th. The UOC filed a complaint.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko said the monks could stay in the Lavra if transferred to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). This organization was created at the end of 2018 by representatives of non-canonical churches. In early 2019, the OCU received a tomos of autocephaly from Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.
