(An Especially Sad Easter Edition)
Although the most pessimistic scenarios considering the possible consequences of the expulsion of the pro-Russian clergy from the Kyiv Cave Monastery Complex (also known as Kyiv Pechersk Lavra), fortunately, were not proved to be true, and no violent actions took place, the harassment of the Orthodox church in Ukraine remains a relevant topic, as well as the question of why the European Union turns a blind eye to such a historic event when hundreds of Orthodox Christian people gather outside the Lavra to protect it.
To be honest, I do not rule out that this question which concerns millions of believers simply escaped the attention of the European decision-makers who forced on approving new arms supplies to Ukraine. Given the sharpness of the situation, it would be extremely important for both the European Parliament and the Commission to know much more about what is going on in Ukraine in the field of church and religion, in order to add this issue in the agenda.
In my new post I am trying to give a brief overview of what has happened in Ukraine in this area in recent years. There are many contradictory aspects in this story, and, as you will see, things are not black and white, neither in Russia nor in Ukraine. I hope that by pointing out some milestones, this post will contribute to understanding what events led to the current situation: why Ukraine was determined to expel Moscow-linked monks from its monasteries, and why Russia has grounds to raise objections to such steps.
And why is this relevant for us in Europe? The answer is obvious: because Ukraine intends to become a member of the European Union, and Europe is making an inexcusable mistake if, due to unclear political motives it turns away from violating the freedom of religion, one of its fundamental values, in a candidate state. In addition, the fact, that the persecution is directed at the church of a national minority, further complicates recent developments. All in all, I believe that all this can give you a very realistic image of Ukraine.
*
The beginning of this story goes back to 2019, when the Orthodox Church of Ukraine under the Kyiv Patriarchate (OCU-KP) was founded, and Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, conferred canonical status on the Kyivan church. (The OCU-KP is not recognised by the Moscow Patriarchate.) It should be admitted that the establishment of the OCU-KP was a huge victory for anti-Russian circles both in and outside Ukraine, which opened the way for further distancing Ukraine from Russia, this time, with the help of the so-called soft power of the church.
The gradual movement to reduce Moscow’s influence over Ukraine’s spiritual affairs has gained momentum with the outbreak of the war, and the very fact that the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and its head Patriarch Kirill did not hesitate to support the Kremlin when Russia invaded Ukraine, greatly contributed to this.
Another milestone should also be mentioned, namely that at the end of November 2022, a draft law on banning the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church on the territory of Ukraine (№8221) was published on the website of the Ukrainian Parliament. A few days later, on 1 December 2022, the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine instructed the Cabinet of Ministers to propose to the Ukrainian Parliament to enter a ban on the UOC-MP, and also initiated a review of the legality of the presence of the Russia-linked clergy in the Kyiv Cave Monastery (Kyiv Pechersk Lavra).
The abovementioned bill was aimed at preventing threats to the national security of Ukraine, and described ’the liberation of Ukraine from the Russian Orthodox Church as yet another step towards an independent Ukraine.’
In a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology in December 2022, over half (54%) of respondents said the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) should be banned in Ukraine once and for all. It is important to note that according to the results of another survey of the same year, the majority of Ukrainians considered themselves Orthodox, but only 4 percent identified themselves with the UOC-MP.
It is obvious, that the political component in this identification has appeared last year with the help of legislation, and it can clearly be seen how successfully the OCU-KP was able to find its place in the new conditions and was able to define itself, at the same time, how unsuccessful the UOC-MP was in distancing itself from the bad image of the so-called Russian church.
Two more notes concerning political aspects. As you remember, Brussels intended to include Patriarch Kirill in a package of EU sanctions for supporting the invasion of Ukraine and acting as a propagandist for Putin’s regime, but eventually he was deleted from the ban list, owing to Hungary’s objection. After this unsuccessful attempt, Swiss media reports spread information about Kirill’s alleged espionage activities in Geneva in the early 1970s, when the patriarch was living in Geneva and officially represented Moscow at the World Council of Churches.
For a better understanding, I would like to illustrate the aforementioned political game against the monks of the Kyiv Lavra with official data. According to official statistics, in the first year of the war, the Security Service of Ukraine (a.k.a. SBU) investigated nearly 60 criminal proceedings against the clergy of the UOC-MP, conducted more than 850 inspections and 350 searches in the premises of churches and monasteries of the UOC-MP, including the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. The SBU considers the priests of the UOC-MP to be Russian agents. On what basis? The authorities said they had found pro-Russian literature in church premises, and that was all.
Have you heard a word about these criminal proceedings? I guess, you have not. In this particular case, ’searches’ and ’checks’ mean the deliberate and systematic persecution of monks and priests of the Lavra by employees of the Ukrainian secret service.
Moreover, some politicians in Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine demanded that the government deprive the UOC-MP of the right to rent the premises of the Kyiv Cave Monastery Complex.
After that, to no one’s surprise, an express government investigation found that the monastery violated the terms of the agreement on the use of state property, and then the agreement was unilaterally terminated by the Ukrainian government. As a result, a deadline was provided for the monks to leave the premises of the Lavra by 29 March. Patriarch Kirill had no choice but to address the international community, including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, expressing his ’deep concern’ about such ’an illegal ultimatum’. It should be noted that the 10-year-old agreement (dated 19 July 2013) on the free use of religious buildings and other state-owned property, in fact, terminated on 29 March 2023. An interesting coincidence, isn’t it? In order to avoid eviction, the monks were provided by the state the possibility to move from the UOC-MP to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). In this case, they were allowed to stay in the Lavra.
Such events led to the sad day of 29 March, when some inhabitants of the Kyiv Caves Monastery, mainly women, sat on benches next to the monastery, and waited for someone to tell them where they would sleep that night. ’They are taking our home. (…) God will punish you, and others like you for playing with His will’, a woman told Politico, which reported from Ukraine’s capital. The same bitterness is felt in the words of the replaced abbot of the Lavra, Metropolitan Pavel.’Our tears will not fall to the ground, they will fall on your head’, he said in his address to President Zelenskiy. For these words, Pavel was put under two months of home arrest and was given an electronic bracelet on his leg… When asked by the employees of the SBU why he did not intend to go on compromise, Pavel said: ’With God you cannot go on compromise’.
I want to add just one more sentence to this sad story. The Serbian Orthodox Church was the only one which stood up for the expelled clergy of the Lavra.
After all this, Happy Easter to You, Europe!
Metropolitan Pavel was put on an electronic bracelet
Leave a Reply