The government in Kyiv has placed a Ukrainian Orthodox Church leader under house arrest and demanded that Orthodox monks vacate a 1,000-year-old monastery, amid a clampdown on the church.
Ukrainian officials accuse the church of harboring pro-Russia sympathies and collaborating with Moscow. The church, which distanced itself from Moscow after last year’s invasion of Ukraine, denies the allegations.
Over the weekend, a Kyiv court sentenced Metropolitan Pavel, a Ukrainian Orthodox Church leader, to 60 days under house arrest. The court says Pavel is guilty of condoning “Russian aggression” and inciting “religious divisions.”
Pavel, for his part, maintains his innocence and has described the sentence as “politically motivated.”
According to a court order, Pavel must serve his time under house arrest outside the capital Kyiv and is prohibited from attending church services. He must also wear a monitoring bracelet around his ankle.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has longstanding ecclesiastical and linguistic ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, which is led by Kirill, the patriarch of Moscow.
An ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kirill supports Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, which he claims is necessary to protect Russia–and Orthodoxy–from a corrupt and hostile West.
Kyiv and its allies, for their part, view Russia’s invasion—now in its second year—as an illegal war of aggression.
Monastery in Eye of Storm
In October 2022, Kyiv began cracking down on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, accusing it of collaborating with Moscow. Since then, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) has raided church property, sanctioned church leaders, and prosecuted dozens of Orthodox clergymen.The SBU claims the raids have uncovered copious evidence of collaboration, including large sums of cash and “pro-Russian literature.”
In December 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved a decision by the country’s National Security Council to ban the church’s activities. He has also called for legislation banning religious organizations that have links to Russia.
On March 10, Ukrainian authorities ordered church members to vacate Kyiv’s celebrated Pechersk Lavra (“Monastery of the Caves”). Founded almost 1,000 years ago, the monastery serves as the church’s headquarters and is a popular destination for Orthodox pilgrims.
Churchmen were given until March 29 to vacate the monastery, of which Pavel serves as father-superior, or face forcible eviction.
Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, defended Kyiv’s actions as a means of ensuring Ukraine’s “spiritual independence” from Moscow.
According to Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleskandr Tkachenko, the church violated its tenancy agreement by erecting unlicensed buildings inside the sprawling monastery complex.
Describing the embattled church as the “Moscow branch of Ukrainian Orthodoxy,” he said the state should appropriate the entire complex, which since 1990 has been a UNESCO World Heritage site.
“There are many new buildings that do not have relevant documents and permits,” Tkachenko said in televised comments. “The state must manage what belongs to it.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Kyiv of pursuing a “policy of repression” aimed at “exterminating” Ukraine’s “canonical” Orthodox Church.
Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s envoy to the United Nations, said Kyiv was carrying out “gangster-style takeovers of Orthodox churches and parishes” across the country.
“There are now plans to deprive the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Pechersk Lavra,” he told the U.N. Security Council on March 14. “This raises the risk of escalation and fratricidal confrontation between Ukrainians.”
On March 30, Ukrainian officials visited the monastery to conduct an “audit” of church property, including ancient relics. However, Pavel and his fellow clergymen prevented them from entering the complex.
The following day, Pavel was charged with inciting sectarian hatred and supporting “Russian aggression” in Ukraine.
‘Crisis in Orthodoxy’
The latest developments have prompted concern that Kyiv plans to transfer ownership of the historic monastery to a rival Ukrainian church established five years ago. In 2018, a more nationalist-minded Orthodox Church—dubbed the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU)—was set up with the ostensible aim of curtailing Russian influence.However, Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox leaders reject the new church’s legitimacy, which they describe as “schismatic” and “anti-canonical.”
Putin himself has described the new church as a Western-driven “political project” aimed at “inciting ethnic and religious tensions.”
In 2019, the new church received the blessing of Bartholomew I, the archbishop of Constantinople and the titular head of the Orthodox Christian world.
Last month, Bartholomew said Russia’s “church and state leadership”—referring to Kirill and Putin—share responsibility for the ongoing bloodshed in Ukraine.
Lavrov, for his part, has claimed in the past that Washington pressured Bartholomew to legitimize the new church with the aim of fomenting a “crisis in Orthodoxy.”
Reacting to news of Pavel’s recent arrest, Lavrov’s Foreign Ministry said the move was part of an “intentional effort”—directed by Washington—to incite sectarian hatred.
In an April 3 statement, the ministry claimed Kyiv was “hardly independent when it comes to its anti-ecclesiastic policies.” It added, “Creating a schism within Orthodoxy has long been a stated objective of Washington.”
U.S. State Department officials didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment on the ministry’s assertion.
