The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra monks are not going to throw in the towel and leave. They are pinning their hopes on national law for their protection, said Metropolitan Kliment, who heads the Information and Education Department with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. When asked by journalists where these monks and clerics would go if they were banished, he responded by saying that they are not considering such an option since there is Ukrainian law that protects all religions, including Orthodox Christianity.
However, analysts emphasize that the Zelensky regime has little respect for law and human rights as the authorities continue their persecution of Christians.
Vladimir Legoyda, chairman of the Synodal Department for Relations between the Church, Society and the Mass Media, (Russian Orthodox Church), stated that Zelensky and his henchmen were generally ignorant about religion, however their US handlers soon drove some sense into his head and explained the pivotal role Christianity plays in Russia and Ukraine.
The scheme is to forge a religious divide between Russians and Ukrainians, by legitimizing the post-coup regime's artificially constructed so-called Orthodox Church of Ukraine (not to be confused with Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the legitimate organization).
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine was not accepted by a majority of Christians, so the Kiev regime and its bosses in Washington are seeking ways to somehow boost its legitimacy. The seizure of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra – the national symbol of Orthodox Christianity - is a move aimed at legitimizing the regime's bastardized church. However, experts note that handing over a holy shrine to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine will likely only further alienate Ukrainian believers from the morally bankrupt Kiev junta.
On Thursday, March 30, Ukrainian faithful gathered to protect the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and its monks from the Ukrainian authorities.
The protest was non-violent, however the believers repeatedly warned Zelensky that he is "waging a war against God". The priests condemned "godless" Kiev regime while Vladimir Legoyda compared this event with persecution of Christians by corrupt and decadent Roman emperors.
On March 10, Ukrainian authorities demanded that the Orthodox monks of Kiev-Pechersk Lavra vacate the monastery by March 29 under a far-fetched pretext – they claim that Ukrainian Orthodox Church somehow violated the terms of agreement of the use of the state property. The believers were shocked by these demands and stressed the fact that the order came in the wake of Great Lent – one of most important period for Christians.