On October 8, police officers attempted to conduct investigative actions on the territory of the Pochaiv Lavra of the UOC MP, located in the Ternopil region.
This was reported by the director of the Kremenets-Pochaiv State Historical and Architectural Reserve Vasyl Ilchyshyn on Facebook.
In a comment for Suspilne, he noted that an investigator called him and warned him that investigative actions were to take place on the territory of the Lavra. During them, they said, a representative of the balance sheet holder was to be present, so Ilchyshyn went there.
According to him, the investigative actions were carried out in the utility part of the cells, which is not a monument. He added that "everything seemed to have been agreed upon", but the representatives of the Lavra did not appear, although they had previously been there and reached an agreement with the investigator.
Ilchyshyn does not know the reasons for the investigative actions. It is only known that law enforcement officers were trying to find some documents regarding the All Saints Church.
When law enforcement officers used equipment to get through the gate, clashes broke out. Ilchyshyn says that teenage boys dressed in cassocks, as well as women, arrived at the scene. Due to the unrest, the investigative actions were postponed.
"Attempts by investigators to conduct investigative actions peacefully and in the presence of lawyers on the territory of the Pochaiv Holy Assumption Lavra ended in provocation by a religious organization. Under the clear supervision of representatives of the Lavra brotherhood, minors were launched to the scene of the investigative action, who were extremely aggressive and let their hands go both towards the investigators and the police," he wrote.
Earlier that day, investigators searched the All Saints Church, which belongs to the Holy Assumption Pochaiv Lavra. The police told Suspilne that the searches were related to an investigation into fraud.
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