The Ministry of Culture will begin the process of transferring the Pochayiv and Sviatohirsk Lavras of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to state ownership

The pressure on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church continues in Ukraine. The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine is working on transferring two monasteries of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church into state ownership: the Pochaev Lavra, located in the Ternopil region, and the Sviatohirsk Lavra, located in the Donetsk region.

This was stated by the Acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy, Rostyslav Karandeev.

“Today we are doing a huge amount of work in both the Pochaev Lavra and the Sviatohirsk Lavra, as well as other sites, particularly in the ‘Ancient Chernihiv’ reserve, a large part of which was also used by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church diocese. We are working on returning these objects to state management,” said the minister.

He accused the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of many violations and non-compliance with the conditions of use as a result of an inspection of the property. He cited the example of the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in Chernihiv, which “was used extremely untidily.”

It should be recalled that earlier the Ministry of Culture decided to seize the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in the capital from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. However, this decision has only been partially implemented. The lower Lavra continues to be used by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Currently, the Verkhovna Rada is considering a bill to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. However, its passage has encountered problems.