Of the 140 monks of the Moscow Patriarchate, only five came to save the Lavra on the night of the attack—Abraham
During the cleanup efforts following the Russian airstrike on the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra last Monday, only five representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate—out of the 140 who live there—took part in saving the shrine.
The majority of the clergy showed complete indifference to the fate of the historic church at this critical moment.
The monastery’s abbot spoke candidly about his expectations and the actual behavior of representatives of the ecclesiastical structure that is subordinate to the aggressor country.
Bishop Avraam emphasized that he had sincerely hoped for solidarity and a united response from the brethren of the Lower Lavra to this terrible tragedy.
“Out of 140 monks, only five came,” the head of the monastery stated.
The Lavra’s abbot drew attention to the obvious contradiction between the public statements of representatives of the UOC-MP and their actual actions during an immediate threat to the monastery.
“But the reality turned out to be completely different. And out of 140 monks, only five showed up that night. Of course, the question arises: where are the others? Do you not care about the monastery? We can hear them constantly crying out that they are defending the shrine, that it is being desecrated, that their believers are being persecuted. But in reality, we see something completely different: they don’t care about the shrine,” the bishop stated.
He contrasted this passivity with the actions of Ukrainian law enforcement officers and rescue workers, who selflessly fought the fire.
Bishop Avraam once again addressed the monks of the Lower Lavra, urging them to make a conscious choice and sever all ties with the religious center in Moscow.
He assured them that the OCU does not view them as opponents and does not intend to expel anyone from the territory of the historical reserve.
“Dear brothers, as long as you remain in communion with the Moscow Patriarchate, … I want to explain to all of you: we are not your enemies. We live in our own country, and we have not stolen anything from anyone. We have returned to our ancestral home,” the hierarch emphasized.
In the vicar’s view, remaining in canonical communion with the Russian Orthodox Church following the Russian army’s open attacks on Ukrainian churches is absolutely unacceptable.
Russian drones and missiles bring death to all Ukrainians without exception, regardless of their religious affiliation.
“The Lavra remains, and the brethren of the Lavra will remain fully at their posts. But remaining in communion with the Moscow Patriarchate—especially after yet another Russian attack—is impossible. Because we see what the enemy is doing—he is directing all his forces to kill and destroy us. And he doesn’t ask which patriarchate you belong to. As we can see, yet another Russian attack is directed against all of us,” the bishop asserted.
At the conclusion of his speech, the bishop called on representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate to return to the fold of the local Ukrainian Church.
“I urge you to return while there is still a chance. We are waiting for you. After all, I want to believe that you will hear the voice of God and return to the jurisdiction of the local Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” said Avraam.
He also added that, due to the severe damage to the Assumption Cathedral, all regular divine services of the OCU have been moved to the neighboring Refectory Church dedicated to Saints Anthony and Theodosius.
The OLIZ brand will donate the proceeds from its Lavra collection to the restoration of the Cathedral of the Dormition
As a reminder, Russia attacked the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, causing a fire.
Prior to that, Russian cruise missiles struck the Zaporizhzhia region, resulting in injuries.
