Patriarch Kirill called for the prevention of the forced closure of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, emphasizing that this would lead to the violation of the rights of millions of Ukrainians to freedom of religion, including those guaranteed by the Ukrainian Constitution and the UN charter. The related video message was released on: Web site Russian Orthodox Church.
The patriarch compared the ultimatum of the Ukrainian authorities to the Lavra, to the persecution of faith during the Soviet Union.
Expressing that he hopes his words will be taken into account, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church said, “As at that time, there is no need to mention the minimum respect for the rights of citizens, the authorities are openly ignoring the law.”
March 10 recognizedThe priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra were forced to leave the monastery premises before March 29.
Later Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov sent Letters to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani regarding this situation.
Earlier it was reported that the former Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov was killed. accused Western countries hypocritical about the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.