The Pope expressed his opinion on the situation with the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra

“I am thinking about the Orthodox monks of the Kyiv Lavra. I ask the parties involved in the war to respect religious places,” the pontiff said.

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According to him, monks and people who have devoted themselves to prayer are “the support of God’s people” regardless of their confession.

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The National Reserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra” obliged the monks of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) to leave the monastery buildings until March 29. Acting General Director Oleksandr Rudnyk referred to the conclusions of the interdepartmental working group and the letter from the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine. It says that the monastery violated the terms of the agreement on the use of state property. No confirmation of this is given.

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Last Saturday, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’ addressed religious leaders and international figures with a message in which he called for attention to the situation around the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Among the recipients of the appeal was Pope Francis.

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