Ancient Russian monastery risks expropriation by the new Kiev Patriarchate
The Ukrainian parliament approved a law on church properties in favor of the new autocephalous Church. For Filaret, "the Cavre Lavre and the Pochaev Lavra must be handed over to the patriarchate of Kiev". A symbol for all Orthodox.
Moscow (AsiaNews) - There is strong apprehension among the monks of Pochaevskaja Lavra, one of the main holy places of Russian Orthodoxy in Ukraine. This ancient monastery could in fact pass under the jurisdiction of the new autocephalous Ukrainian Church.
Last week the Ukrainian parliament passed a new law on church properties, which could put at risk different churches and shrines currently under the ecclesiastical administration of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine.
The monastery of Pochaev, in the Ternopyl region, was founded in 1240 by the monks of the Great Lavra of the Kiev Caves, fleeing from the Mongol invasion that razed the capital of the ancient Rus' to the ground. Some time after the opening, according to the ancient chronicles, the Mother of God appeared in the monastery, who even left traces known as "The Sacred Ormes of Pochaev", still visible today in the church of the Assumption inside of the Lavra. These and other relics made the monastery particularly dear to the devotion of all Orthodox, Russian and Ukrainian believers.
Despite the strict rules of the monastery, vocations continue to be abundant decades, after the end of communism: at Christmas last 10 novices were welcomed. All together, the members of the monastery pray with very long litanies belonging to the Typikon of Pochaev, in which invocations are often repeated "so that the Lord does not allow the enemies of the monastery to profane our sanctuary", evidently linked to the ancient Tatar-Mongol threat.
Today these prayers take on a particularly current meaning. On November 28th a commission of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine annulled the agreement with the Church of the Patriarchate of Moscow for the usufruct of the Lavra buildings. Since then, the 200 monks and 50 novices of the monastery (almost all Ukrainians), led by the enlightened metropolitan Vladimir (Morozov), occupy their cells without legal certainty. The "patriarch emeritus" Filaret, the inspirer of the new autocephalous Ukrainian Church - together with President Poroshenko - continues to repeat that "the Lavra of the Caves and the Lavra of Pochaev must be handed over to the patriarchate of Kiev", as he continues to call the new ecclesiastical structure.
The monks of Pochaev made a public appeal denouncing the authorities and their "attempt to destroy monasticism on the territory of western Ukraine". One of the Lavra's monks, interviewed by Ogonjok magazine, said that "so far we try to remain calm, in January many pilgrims arrive in Pochaev, who come only to pray and celebrate Christmas and the Baptism of Jesus. We sing with wonderful choirs , who gather from all over Ukraine. We are afraid that after the holidays the problems will begin ".
Pochaev's lavra has often changed masters in its history, being right on the edge of the western part of the country, on the river Ikva, which was an embankment to the Mongol invasion. For over 100 years it was led by the unified Greek-Catholics, then devastated by the Austrian army during the First World War, and then reconquered by the Russians in 1916. During the Soviet persecutions, the then Ukrainian secretary Nikita Khrushchev opened a Museum of Atheism, along with a psychiatric hospital and army laundry in the monastery. Yet despite convictions and arrests, a group of monks led by the holy starets Amfilokhij and supported by the citizens of Pochaev, managed to keep some areas open for prayer, so that the monastery remained active without interruption.
The monks work continuously, also because they have no gas supply (consequence of the conflicts with Russia), so that all of last summer was spent collecting wood for the stoves. Electricity is also rationed, and in the church the central candles are lit only during the proclamation of the Gospel. Before the conflict in 2014, tens of thousands of pilgrims came from Russia; today, says the interviewed monk, "only women can arrive; men from Russia are made get off the train ". Yet at the feast of the Assumption there were almost 30 thousand pilgrims, even from deep Russia, but above all from all over Ukraine, to pray that the Lavra remain a home for all the Orthodox.
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15/09/2018 09:43
