Pochaev, Ukraine, April 3, 2018
Photo: ua.igotoworld.com Nationalistic Ukrainian radicals are calling on the Ukrainian state to take the Holy Dormition-Pochaev Lavra away from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The call to the Cabinet of Ministers came today during an “anti-oligarchic” march in Kiev, reports The Union of Orthodox Journalists (UOJ).
In particular, the radicals have demanded that the Cabinet cancel the 2003 documents that transferred the Lavra from the state to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, according to the terrorist group Right Sector.
The “anti-oligarchic” march was held today with the participation of several radical-nationalist groups, including Svoboda (Freedom), C14, and the Right Sector, all of which are known for continuous attacks and provocations against the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church due to their hatred of all things Russian.
Members of C14 also harassed monks of the Kiev Caves Lavra today, reports the UOJ. Radicals have often declared their intention to seize the Lavra.
“We found a place for an important demand at the march against the oligarchic powers of the nation—namely to demand that the Cabinet of Ministers cancel a number of criminal documents from 2003 on the transfer of the Pochaev Holy Dormition Lavra into the hands of Moscow ‘priests,’” write the right-wing radicals, revealing their true motivations.
“This initiative of the Right Sector was supported by other nationalist organizations,” they add.
In 2015, deputies of the Ternopil regional council chose Holy Thursday as a suitable time to vote to transfer the Pochaev Lavra back to the state and to turn the cells and cathedrals into a museum.
The various radical groups also continuously harass and intimidate the deputies of the Pochaev city council to prevent it from allocating a plot of land to the Lavra to be used to build housing for the brethren of the monastery.
