Orthodox Church of Ukraine’s Metropolitan Oleksandr (Drabynko) sees as likely a coup among the monks of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, as about 60% of the clergy there condemn Russia’s aggression.
He spoke on the issue s in an interview with Gazeta.ua
“About 60 percent of those in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra share the condemnation of Russia’s aggression. They do not want to commemorate Patriarch Cyril, and those who do not do so ‘get punished’ by Bishop Pavlo (Metropolitan Pavlo Lebid, governor of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, opponent of the OCU autocephaly). But the brothers have a pro-Ukrainian position. It is likely that a coup is possible inside the Lavra in the near future. The monks do not support the pro-Russian position of their leadership, and that is a fact. So they could ask the old leadership to step down and then elect a new one,” said Metropolitan Oleksandr.
At the same time, according to the cleric, the situation in the Pochaiv Lavra is more complicated.
“Its governor, Bishop Volodymyr Moroz, is Moldovan, as are 80 percent of the Pochaiv fraternity. In the church circles, they are called the Kingdom of Moldova. Unfortunately, these people do not understand the Ukrainian issue, do not realize what Ukraine is and what is important to it,” the metropolitan added.
Metropolitan Oleksandr also noted that the UOC-MP should have been banned in the first days of the war.
