Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia sent messages to Pope Francis, UN Secretary-General António Guterres and leaders of other international organizations, in which he expressed concern about the plight of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) priests in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. , informs Press service of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The thing is, UOC priests compulsory Leave the monastery buildings before March 29.
Patriarch Kirill said in a message that the monastic community in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra was put under pressure, that the Ukrainian special services conducted searches in the monastery and the places where the clergy reside, and that in December last year the two largest temples of the Lavra were killed. Retrieved from UOC.
“Repression is also a months-long defamatory information campaign involving state media and TV channels for the monastery, as well as radical politicians, clergy, and public officials – with calls for the community to withdraw from its use and even forcibly confiscate it. , ”says the address of the patriarch.
He emphasized that the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is a shrine of pan-Orthodox significance, whose temples are visited by thousands of pilgrims. At the same time, the Kiev authorities have the most terrible confidence in rights and freedoms, declaring their allegiance to democratic norms and the European path of development.
The message was delivered by Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, president of the Anglican Communion, Secretary General of the World Council of Churches, Dr. Jerry Pillay, OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid, Council of Europe Secretary General Maria Pejcinovic-Burich and others.