On March 31, the Commission of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy for the acceptance and transfer of state property of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, which came with an inspection, was once again not allowed to enter the territory.
Radio Svoboda ["Radio Liberty"] writes about it.
The clergy and parishioners of the UOC MP did not miss the commission. Its representatives had to leave the reserve.
To this, the director of the cultural heritage department of the Ministry of Culture Maryana Tomin informed that she would go to court and file a lawsuit to remove obstacles to the use of state property.
According to her, the monastery has no right to be on the territory of the Lavra in accordance with the governmentʼs decision.
The Moscow Patriarchate assures that the representatives of the commission were not disturbed.
- 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 are 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.