Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkachenko said that the permission to hold a Christmas service by the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epiphanius in the Assumption Cathedral of the

Kyiv-Pechersk

Lavra, was signed for today, January 7, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.   

He told about this on the air of the national telethon.

He also emphasized that the Dormition Cathedral and the Tabernacle Church of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra belong to the state.

According to Tkachenko, the objections of the UOC-MP that property could not be taken during the war are groundless, because the lease agreement for the Assumption Cathedral and the Tabernacle Church in the Upper Lavra was temporary.

"This is a normal legal, transparent procedure for the return of temples to the full use of the Ukrainian state, there is no forceful seizure," he emphasized.

We will remind, on January 5, the Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkachenko announced that the

Assumption Cathedral and the Tabernacle Church of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra were officially returned to state use

, and the vicar of the Lavra from the UOC MP Pavlo (Lebid) did not appear at the signing of the act of returning the religious buildings.

The UOC MP did not renew the lease of the temples of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

On December 31, the UOC (Moscow Patriarchate) held the last divine service in the main cathedrals of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra - Assumption and Trapezny.

On January 1, the UOC MP was no longer allowed on the territory of the Verkhnaya Lavra, so

Metropolitan Pavlo resorted to threats and curses.

The UOC MP is being "evicted" from the two main temples of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra - the Dormition and Tabernacle Cathedrals, which belong to the state.

The Upper Lavra belongs to the Kyiv-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Reserve.

On the territory of the Upper Lavra are located the main cathedrals - Assumption and Tabernacle, as well as the Trinity Church and the Great Lavra bell tower.

In the Lower Lavra, where the caves are located, there is a men's monastery of the UOC MP, a theological seminary, the residence of the governor of the Lavra, and a number of churches.

The Lower Lavra is owned by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate).

In 2013, during the presidency of Yanukovych, an indefinite agreement was concluded for the use of the Lower Lavra of the UOC MP.

On Saturday, January 7,

for the first time in the history of OCU, Epiphany will hold a Christmas service in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

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