It pains us to watch this: Head of the UGCC on the events around the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra
The Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, commented on the events around the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, voicing his position in an interview with Radio Maria on April 12, 2023.
“It is truly distressing for us,” said the Primate, “to watch everything occurring around the Lavra. This pain has several causes. First, it pains us to see the shameful behavior of representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which sometimes resembles the behavior of oligarchs. And this is a certain challenge to public morality.”
“I do not want to condemn anyone, but this affects everyone and causes moral damage to the authority of the Church as such,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
The Head of the UGCC also regrets that the Ukrainian state has not regulated its relations with the lessees as the owner of this national historical reserve for more than 30 years.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted that sometimes the state lacks a clear policy towards the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. “To bring to light the truth amidst this great pain and scandal, both parties must abide by the law. We will be watching the authorities’ actions very closely because today they are not fully understood, particularly by the international community,” said the Head of the Church.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav also noted that when it comes to a shrine for an entire nation, the owner, the state, and the lessee must comply with state law.
“This type of scandal around the Lavra forms a very radical attitude to the church’s spiritual life in general. For example, we heard a statement made by Metropolitan Epifaniy with a negative assessment of the dancing that took place there when other people were praying. The calls of purely atheistic groups are also dangerous for public peace and harmony, which, using this type of scandalous behavior of the clergy as an excuse, are trying to eliminate from public discourse, to discredit any church religious life.”
His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted that the scandal in the monastery was challenging the entire religious environment: Protestants, Greek Catholics, Roman Catholics, and Orthodox. “People lose their moral and spiritual guidelines when a church becomes dangerous from the point of view of state security… The state should prosecute those who are considered collaborators and traitors. But we understand that a church losing its credibility can cause a powerful surge of secularization. Therefore, it hurts me very much,” said the head of the UGCC.
“And yet I believe in the wisdom of the Ukrainian people. I believe that we are Christian, believing people and that our spiritual criteria for discerning dramatic situations will help us find the right solution even to those problems that have not been solved for decades and have become more acute now, during the war,” His Beatitude Sviatoslav summarized.
The UGCC Department for Information
