The Commission of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy completed the inspection of the preservation of state property of the Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra in Ternopil Oblast, which is used by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UPC MP). They found a violation there.
This is evidenced by the report of the commission, which is at the disposal of Ukrinform.
The commission established that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Russian Orthodox Church arbitrarily made repairs, built extensions, and changed structures. All this led to the loss of authentic elements of monuments, and also increased the load on their structures.
A vestibule was added to the central entrance to the Dormition Cathedral, an attic appeared on the third floor of the "Monastic Cells" monument, and the annex to the Gate complex is used as a dining room.
In addition, the members of the commission discovered that a large part of the icons had disappeared. Their list is recorded in passports of monuments of cultural heritage and an inventory list.
It was also found out that the UOC MP in the Pochaiv Lavra violates the fire safety requirements, without permission it replaced the alarm clock in the Dormition Cathedral, and changed the wall paintings.
What is happening with the Pochaiv Lavra
The complex of the Pochaiv Lavra includes 18 buildings. In 2003, it was handed over to the UOC MP for free rent. The contract was concluded for 49 years — it is valid until 2052.
In April 2023, the parliament registered a project of an appeal to the government about terminating the lease agreement with the UOC MP regarding the monastery buildings. In the explanatory note, the authors explained the initiative by the fact that the Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra "is the source of the "Russian peace" and "became an outpost of anti-Ukrainian forces and a center of inter-confessional confrontation and discord."
In April 2023, the Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy of the Verkhovna Rada recommended checking compliance with the terms of the agreement on the use of the Pochaiv Lavra by the UOC MP. In the same month , the Ministry of Culture created a relevant commission. She started work on June 5.