Ukrainian authorities pressure Pochaiv Lavra to leave the UOC

The State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (SSEFC) has sent the Pochaiv Holy Dormition Lavra a demand to sever ties with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church within 30 days, declaring it affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church, whose activities are banned in Ukraine.

In its published conclusion, the SSEFC states that the primary indicator of affiliation is the very fact of the lavra’s membership in the UOC: “The Pochaiv Holy Dormition Lavra is a structural subdivision of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and is part of the Kyiv Metropolitanate of the UOC, which under Ukrainian law has been recognized as affiliated with a foreign religious organization whose activities are banned in Ukraine.”

As an additional argument, the SSEFC cites the fact that, under the ROC’s charter, the lavra’s abbot, who holds the rank of bishop, could theoretically participate in the work of the Local and Bishops’ Councils of the ROC and could also be a member of the ROC Synod. In support of this claim, the service references a 2010 ROC decision under which the then-Archbishop of Pochaiv, Volodymyr, was a member of the Synodal Commission for Monastic Affairs. No more recent evidence of the archbishop’s actual participation in ROC bodies is provided in the SSEFC’s conclusion.

On the basis of its decision, the SSEFC sent the lavra two directives. The first requires the abbot and the Spiritual Council of the lavra to adopt a decision to withdraw from the structure of the Kyiv Metropolitanate of the UOC. The second requires Metropolitan Volodymyr to declare his renunciation of positions in ROC bodies provided for under the ROC’s charter and to sever ties with it. Both directives must be fulfilled within 30 days.

In effect, the lavra is being offered a choice: either leave the UOC or face a lawsuit seeking to ban its activities. As recently as July, a similar lawsuit was filed against the Holosiivska Hermitage in Kyiv.

At the same time, several structures are laying claim to the Pochaiv Lavra simultaneously. As early as March 2023, the Synod of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine established a legal entity — a religious organization under the name “Pochaiv Holy Dormition Lavra.” OCU head Epifaniy has repeatedly stated that the lavra should join the OCU. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has also declared its claims to Pochaiv.