The reserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra” got a new head. His predecessor was not against the UOC MP in Lavra

Maksym Ostapenko, the former head of the Khortytsia reserve, who joined the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the beginning of the Russian invasion, was appointed as the new acting general director of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra reserve.

This was reported to the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine.

The Ministry of Culture reports that Ostapenko is a candidate of historical sciences, the author of more than 30 scientific works, and now "will hold the cultural and religious fronts."

Ostapenkoʼs predecessor was Oleksandr Rudnyk, who was appointed to the post amid scandal in 2017. In December last year, Rudnyk told Radio Svoboda journalists that he was not opposed to representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate staying in the Lavra.

• On March 10, the National Reserve Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra sent a letter to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate about the termination of the lease agreement. Priests were asked to leave the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
• The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine announced that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Ukraine must vacate all the premises it rents in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra by March 29. The UOC MP stated that these demands have no legal basis.
• On March 30, the commission of the Ministry of Culture was unable to start work in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. They were not given the keys to the building, and numerous believers and clergy prevented the work in every possible way. On this day, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate was supposed to leave the territory, but did not do so. Individual representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church interfered with journalists, as a result of which the police opened criminal proceedings, and the Kyiv court rejected the churchʼs claim to invalidate the termination of the lease agreement.
• On the same day, the Cabinet of Ministers canceled the order on the free use of the property of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra by the UOC MP. It was returned to state management.
• On March 31, the Ministry of Culture appealed to the police for the second time due to the fact that the UOC MP does not allow the commission to work on the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Its representatives were not allowed in the Lavra building.
• On April 12, specialists of the Commission of the Ministry of Culture for the acceptance and transfer of property managed to get into building No. 112. The commission noted that the premises are in a state of disrepair, dilapidated and unfit for use, and filed a criminal complaint. The next day, the Kyiv police began an investigation into the destruction of one of the buildings of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.