For the first time, the head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Epiphany, will perform a divine service in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. It will happen on Christmas

On the occasion of the Nativity of Christ, the head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epiphanius, will perform the service in the Assumption Cathedral. This will be the first service of the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

The press service of OCU informs about this.

"After receiving the appropriate permission, we inform the faithful and the public that the festive Divine Liturgy on the occasion of the Nativity of Christ will be celebrated by Metropolitan Epiphany of Kyiv and All Ukraine, Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and Sacred Archimandrite of the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra on January 7, 2023, in the Dormition Cathedral," says the messages

The service will begin at 09:00 on January 7, the day of Christmas, according to the Julian calendar.

Before the New Year, the "Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra" reserve informed the Ukrainian Orthodox church of the Moscow Patriarchate that, as of January 1, it was not renewing the contract for its use of the Assumption Cathedral and the Tabernacle Church in the Upper Lavra.

• On December 20, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate called on President Volodymyr Zelensky to ensure the right to freedom of conscience and religion and the Kvartal 95 studio to apologize for anti-religious jokes.