Ternopil elected officials made a proposal to expel the monks from the Pochaev Lavra

People's deputies of the Ternopil regional Council appealed to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine with the petition to take away from the Pochaev Lavra cathedrals, the bell tower and cloisters, where the monks live, and to give to the jurisdiction of the Kremenets-Pochaev state historical-architectural reserve, say local media.
The decision was initiated by the representative of the party " Freedom ", more than fifty percent of which are in the regional Council, Roman Nawrocki, informs the newspaper " Today ". Building Pochaev Lavra are the responsibility of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate because of the order of the Cabinet of Ministers dated 17 July 2003. The complex was transferred to the Pochaev at Holy Dormition Lavra under a lease agreement with the State Committee of Ukraine on construction and architecture. The assumption and Trinity cathedrals, monastic cells, a bell tower, the Bishop's house and Gatehouse building is transferred to the Church in free rent for 49 years, i.e. until January 1, 2052.
in the Pochaev Lavra about the fact that the regional Council wants to turn the cathedrals and cells in reserve, learned from the media. Metropolitan Pochaev, Abbot of the Holy Dormition Pochayiv Lavra Vladimir and the brethren sent an appeal to President Petro Poroshenko with a request to protect the monastery." Pochayiv Lavra for almost eight centuries is the center of Orthodoxy, spirituality and culture of our state. Since Independence, Ukraine's independence square (Maidan) in 1991 resumed its status as an Orthodox center of world importance, which every year is visited by many pilgrims and travelers not only from Ukraine but also From around the world, " - said in the text of the appeal to the head of the country." You, dear Mr. President, without a doubt, you know, these (or attempt to take Lavra Ukrainian) increases the probability of the cast to sectarian strife. Therefore we ask you not to prevent the transmission of monastic buildings are part of the reserve, " said the Pochaev Metropolitan Volodymyr to Poroshenko." Today, the Ternopol regional Council gave the ownership of more than 95% iconic religious buildings of other faiths, and the Lavra buildings, which were taken from the godless Soviets in the 60-ies of XX century up to the present time have not returned to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is their legitimate owner, " - said in a statement to Poroshenko. Formed around the Pochaev Lavra of the situation in the UOC consider the failures of religious freedom of Ukrainians." Similar cases around the country not so much, but they are egregious in terms of violations of freedom of religion, guaranteed to us by the Constitution, " said the Vicar of the Kyiv Metropolis Bishop Irpen Clement. Attempts to interfere in the life of the Church he connects with the desire of politicians to gain popularity before the local elections." There is such a pattern, when local authorities do not have the ability to solve financial problems connected with payments of pensions and social benefits, Then they invent reasons that will distract attention from these issues. The most frequent cause become religious issues. Elected officials, instead of to be engaged in their duties, begin to divide the Patriarchates, to divide the Church, to translate them from one jurisdiction to another. Although in most cases these officials and "our father" without errors will not read. For this reason, the recent decision of the Ternopil regional Council, it is customary, unfortunately, populism yesterday the upcoming elections, " said master Clement. Remember, attacks on Orthodox churches in Ukraine for the last period of time there are more and more often. One of the latest incidents occurred on eleven February. Then the bullies got on the platform of the centenary of St. John Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in the village Demidovka Rivne region of Ukraine and ransacked. on January 28 it was declared about the robbery of a men's monastery in the village Hawtin Rivne oblast in Western Ukraine. 27 January to commemorate the burning Of the wooden Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. At the end of December of last year the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate announced the capture of the 2 churches of the diocese of Rivne, where entrenched, According to clerics, fighters of " Right sector* ". Some strong young men Then cut the door locks and broke into the Church. We will add that on 10 February, the head of the Department for external Church relations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Mitrofan of Lugansk gave to the Council of Europe information About power grabs and attacks on Orthodox churches and tried to convince the international Commonwealth to protect the rights of believers in Ukraine. on February 27, Deputy Minister of foreign Affairs of Russia Gennady Gatilov said that in the process unleashed by the Kiev military actions in Eastern Ukraine destroyed Orthodox churches and monasteries, the believers have been harassed and bullied by Ukrainian nationalists. The Ministry of foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation stated that attacks on religious shrines in Ukraine happen with the connivance of Kiev. The Holy Synod of the UOC in the early winter of last year addressed to the President of Petro Poroshenko "in connection with the crisis in the Ukrainian society," noting that at the end of hostilities in the South-East of Ukraine destroyed or damaged nearly 90 churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.
* Organization, relative to which a court has adopted the legally effective conclusion Of destruction or prohibition of the activities on the grounds stipulated by the Federal law "On countering extremist activity"


sections: Politics