Culture Ministry Gave Permission, Reserve Concluded Agreement. Epiphanius’ Christmas Worship Will Be Held In Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epiphanius, will hold a Christmas worship on January 7 on the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. The Ministry of Culture granted permission, and the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Reserve concluded an agreement with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) to hold the service. This is reported by BBC News Ukraine.

"In the afternoon (January 5 - ed.), I received a request from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine on holding a worship and obtaining a permit from the Ministry of Culture. I gave permission and signed an agreement to hold a worship on January 7. All the documents are now available, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church published outdated information in the evening," Oleksandr Rudnyk, acting director general of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve, commented disseminated information by the UOC MP about the alleged lack of grounds for holding the worship by Epiphanius.

Rudnyk noted that the video with his statement to the contrary, which was distributed in the UOC MP the day before, was filmed in the early hours of Thursday, January 5.

"At that time, there was no order about worship," Rudnyk said.

He also emphasized that currently it is about a one-time lease of the premises of the Dormition Cathedral for the Christmas worship.

He added that the law enforcers will make sure tomorrow that the event takes place without any excesses.

BBC News Ukraine also published a document confirming the Ministry of Culture's consent to the OCU worship in the Dormition Cathedral.

In addition, the interlocutors of the publication in the Orthodox Church of Ukraine indicated that as of January 5, the reserve had not yet concluded an agreement with the OCU on the lease for January 7. However, the decision of the Ministry of Culture has already been made.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on January 5, during a meeting with clergymen and representatives of the Lavra brothers, acting director general of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve stated that no requests for the use of the Dormition Cathedral and the Refectory Church for religious worships were received from the OCU, and the reserve also received no orders in this regard.

On January 4, it became known that the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epiphanius, will hold a Christmas worship on January 7, 2023, in the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

On January 3, the Dormition Cathedral and the Refectory Church of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra were closed due to the eviction of the UOC MP.

On December 3, 2022, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy recommended not to extend the lease of two churches of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra to the UOC (MP).

On December 2, 2022, the press service of the OCU reported that the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra was officially registered as a monastery within the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.