After an unsuccessful attempt to meet with Vladimir Zelensky, the monks of the UOC-MP published an appeal to him. In their 'letter' they claim to 'stoke the flames on religious grounds'.

In their appeal, the monks ask Zelensky “not to take away the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra from them,” and they reject all accusations of pro-Kremlin propaganda.

Monks hope their voice will be heard

In the “letter”, the monks declare that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the UOC-MP “strongly condemned military aggression” and “called on its believers to stand up for their native land.” At the same time, the synod of the church emphasizes that “nothing bad” has been done since February 24, 2022, but, on the contrary, “they are working for the good of Ukraine.”

In addition, in the appeal, the monks state that they allegedly raised the “Kiev-Pechersk Lavra from the ruins in which it was 35 years ago.”

Metropolitan of the UOC-MP Onufry, listed as the author of the appeal, also highlighted several areas of the Lavra's work that “deserve respect”:

• “she educates the flock to love their Motherland”;
• “she was the first among religious organizations to strongly condemn this military aggression and called on her believers to stand up for their native land”;
• “her parishioners are now in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine”;
• “it provides financial assistance to servicemen, internally displaced persons and other categories of the population who find themselves in difficult circumstances”;
• “its clergy travel with humanitarian supplies to cities and villages, especially those affected by the war”;
• “She defends the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our state and strongly condemns Russian military aggression against Ukraine.”

As a result, the monks of the UOC-MP ask Zelensky to cancel the bills that have already been registered in the Rada against their activities, and to allow them to continue holding services on the territory of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.

How the monks of the UOC-MP tried to meet with the president

• On March 20, Metropolitan Anthony announced that members of the Holy Synod of the UOC came to the Office of the President to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky
• Metropolitan Onuphry, abbot of the Holy Dormition Monastery of the UOC-MP Pavel (Lebed) and Metropolitan Luka of Zaporozhye also visited the OP.
• As it became known, the monks allegedly want to convey “their position” to the leadership. However, Zelensky's press secretary refused to allow the monks to meet with the president, he offered to hand over a written appeal.