Originally published August 15, 2023 8:00 pm PDT
Ukrainian police officers raided the Kiev Pechersk Lavra following a court ruling forcing monks out of the historic monastery.
QUICK FACTS:
- Officials in Ukraine have reportedly stormed the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, a historic Eastern Orthodox Christian monastery located in the nation’s capital, following a court ruling that authorized the eviction of monks from the historic monastery.
- According to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), the ministry is facing unprecedented crackdowns by authorities in Kiev, accusing the church of having ties to Russia.
- The UOC said on Telegram this week that officers had blocked off three buildings on the premises of the Pechersk Lavra, the largest Orthodox monastery in the city.
- The church uploaded a video showing a small crowd in front of one of the buildings, with the sound of large tools apparently working in the background.
THE UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH ON OFFICIALS TARGETING PLACES OF WORSHIP THAT ARE HOME TO BELIEVERS:
“These dwellings house not only pilgrims, but also monks of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra,” the UOC said.
BACKGROUND:
- In March 2023, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson reported that although the constitution of Ukraine is supposed to ensure religious freedom, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky had been “closing churches belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church” and is “arresting priests and nuns.”
- He added that it was “absolutely shameful” and that Christian leaders in the United States were apparently saying nothing about it.
- “So, in order to support Joe Biden’s policy in Ukraine, you have to support what the government of Ukraine is doing with American tax dollars, including cracking down on faithful Christians within the borders of Ukraine,” Carlson said.
- The former Fox News host claimed it “seems like a big deal,” saying he couldn’t “remember in my lifetime, a European country closing churches and throwing Christians in jail at this scale. Why do no Christian leaders here notice it?”
- In December 2022, the Zelensky government announced it was writing a law to ban churches that are “affiliated with Russia,” Reuters reported at the time.
- Zelensky claimed the goal was to prevent Moscow from trying to “weaken Ukraine from within.”
- At the same time, Ukrainian security services started raiding churches belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is under the ecclesial jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church.
- Spokesman Metropolitan Kliment said that his church “has always acted within the framework of Ukrainian law,” reported Reuters. “Therefore, the state of Ukraine does not have any legal grounds to put pressure on or repress our believers.”
