Izvestia visited the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra on the eve of Easter.
It is noted that the situation in the temple is calm. Parishioners bring Easter cakes and eggs to the monastery to bless them on the eve of the bright holiday.
Earlier, on April 14, the former head of the Khortytsya National Reserve in the Zaporozhye region, Maxim Ostapenko, was appointed new and. O. Director General of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Reserve.
Two days before this, the commission of the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture recorded the emergency condition of one of the buildings of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. The head of the department Alexander Tkachenko said that the commission came to the conclusion that building No. 112 is unsuitable for operation and has obvious signs of destruction.
The schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) and its supporters put pressure on the UOC. It intensified after the publication of a warning on March 10 on the website of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra signed by acting. General Director of the National Reserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra” Alexander Rudnik that the monks must leave the monastery before March 29. It was also said that the monks could remain in the Lavra, subject to transfer to the schismatic OCU.
As the reason for the closure of part of the monastery, allegedly revealed violations were named. Last November, during searches on the territory of the Lavra, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) found pro-Russian literature.
After that, the seizure of churches and clashes between schismatics and representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) began to take place in the cities of Ukraine. At the same time, the UOC remains in the Lavra.