Orthodox monks and other residents of a historic monastery in the Ukrainian capital say they will remain on the religious site despite the evacuation ordered by the Kiev government.

The Pechersk-Lavra Monastery is one of the headquarters of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (IOU), which broke away from the Moscow Patriarchate after the Russian invasion last year.

The Ukrainian government suspects some of the top IOU clerics maintain ties with the Church in Moscowwhat they deny.

The IOU was ordered to vacate the compound — also known as the Monastery of the Caves, which is home to churches, museums and other monastic buildings — by March 29.

The Ukrainian government, which owns the massive 11th-century monastery overlooking the Dnipro River, says the decision was made after a commission discovered multiple violations of the resort’s leasedeclared a World Heritage Site by Unesco.

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Metropolitan Clement says the government can’t evict them. Photo: GENYA SAVILOV

Metropolitan Clément, head of the IOU press service, said so “there are no legal grounds” for eviction, announced earlier this month.

“If the government forces us to do it illegally, it will be totalitarianism,” he told the BBC. “We don’t need such a state or government. We have the Constitution and laws. We do not accept any other methods.”

support for Moscow

Ukrainian authorities accuse some IOU members of covertly supporting Moscow during the war, although some church leaders have denounced the Russian invasion.

Last year, Ukrainian security forces raided the monastery and other UOC buildings, and dozens of clerics were detained on charges of treason and collaboration with Russia. However, the IOU says there is no evidence to support the allegations.

This Wednesday morning, hundreds of worshipers gathered outside the complex under a light snowfall to attend mass. Photo: GETTY IMAGES

In addition, a criminal investigation was opened last year after a video emerged of pro-Russian propaganda chanting, referring to the “awakening” of Mother Russia, while the head of a diocese in the Vinnytsia area of ​​central Russia, Ukraine, was accused of preparing leaflets in support of the Russian invasion.

This Wednesday morning, hundreds of worshipers gathered outside the complex under a light snowfall to attend Mass. As in recent days, the police inspected the cars entering and leaving the place, but the situation remained calm.

The deportation order has exposed divisions within the Ukrainian Orthodox community.

In recent years, many have joined the Ukrainian Independent Orthodox Church, which gained independence in 2019, while millions still follow the UOC, which broke away from Moscow last May after centuries under its rule.

Lubov Bank, a 60-year-old chorister from the central city of Poltava, said she had been demonstrating at the monastery for three days and called the decision to evict the residents a “political decision”.

“She [el gobierno] They don’t abide by the constitution,” he said. “Monks are real angels. I don’t want the authorities to do this.”

It is not clear what will happen if the IOU does not leave the compound, but Ukraine’s Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko has assured that authorities will not use force to drive out the monks.

The Russian Orthodox Church has repeated the Kremlin’s rhetoric to justify the war in Ukraine. The boss, Patriarch Kirill, has implied in sermons that the war in Russia is only for the future of Christianity and has not unequivocally condemned the killing of innocent people in Ukraine.