In the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, the Ministry of Culture commission was not allowed to enter the church: former abbot Pavel threatened the media with a stick. Photos and video

On Thursday, March 30, believers of the UOC-MP began to gather near one of the churches in the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, not wanting to allow members of the Ministry of Culture to enter. Law enforcement officers are at the scene, and former abbot Pavlo threatened journalists with a stick.

This was reported by an OBOZREVATEL correspondent. As of today, representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate have no right to occupy the premises of the monastery (to watch the video, scroll to the bottom of the page).

Thus, in the morning, believers of the UOC-MP began to come to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and gather near the Church of Agapetus of the Kyiv Caves. They blocked the entrance to the church and are not letting the commission's representatives inside.

It should be added that a sufficient number of law enforcement officers are at the scene. According to the Kyiv police, they will keep order and prevent provocations. A commission has also arrived to describe the first church of the UOC.

The believers shouted and cursed the head of the commission of the Ministry of Culture, Marianna Tomin, who came to the church. She was chased through the streets of Kyiv. According to Tomin, according to the plans, the commission will work for three months, but so far they cannot enter the building because it is locked from the inside.

Later, the former abbot of the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, Metropolitan Pavlo, came out to the faithful and spoke aggressively to the journalists and threatened to beat them with a stick. For their part, the faithful of the Moscow Patriarchate responded aggressively to journalists' questions, singing, and one of them said that "if they had not taken away the churches, children would have rotted in the trenches".

Earlier, the former abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan Pavel (real name: Petro Lebed), known by the nickname "Mercedes", threatened and cursed the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy against the eviction from the shrine. He "guaranteed" that God would not forgive the leader of the state for the expulsion of the Moscow Church.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL:

• On March 10, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve announced the termination of the lease agreement with the UOC-MP monastery. Its representatives have to leave the territory of the Kyiv Monastery by March 29.
• Since March 21, monks and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate have been banned from entering the caves of the Kyiv Cave Monastery. It is explained that a commission of the Ministry of Culture is assessing the preservation of cultural property.
• On March 20, members of the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate came to the Presidential Office. They announced their intention to meet with Volodymyr Zelenskyy to "convey their position to the state leadership".
• The head of the OCU, Metropolitan Epifaniy, addressed the brethren of the Kyiv Cave Monastery of the Holy Dormition and the public. He called for assistance in the process of liberating the monastery complex "from the Moscow yoke" and assured them that they would be protected from intimidation by the current head of the monastery.

• On March 29, the head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), Metropolitan Epifaniy, appointed an acting abbot of the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. He has appointed Archimandrite Abraham (Lotysh) of the UOC-MP as a member of the Lavra's Spiritual Council.
• Earlier in the day, Metropolitan Pavlo, bishop of the UOC-Moscow Patriarchate and abbot of the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, said that representatives of the UOC-MP do not intend to leave the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. According to him, the Russian church's ministers allegedly have a legal right to stay in the monastery.

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