"The Ministry of Culture has sent a letter to the Kiev Theological Academy and Seminary informing that teachers, students and staff of Kiev Theological Schools are defined as visitors to [the Kiev-Pechersk] Lavra, now access to the territory of the monastery and the academy's buildings is prohibited to them," the information and education department of the UOC said on Friday.
The National Kiev-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Preserve decided to close the territory of the Lower Lavra (where the academy's buildings are located) to visitors on August 11, the UOC added.
On August 10, Ukrainian media reported that a commission of the Ukrainian culture ministry has sealed four buildings of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.
Tensions between the Ukrainian government and the UOC escalated after Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. UOC monks were ordered to leave the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, whose jurisdiction is divided between the National Kiev-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Preserve, a Ukrainian cultural organization, and the UOC, for allegedly violating the terms of the lease.
Then-Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko said that the monks could remain in the Lavra if they joined the non-canonical Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). Lavra monks slammed the unilateral eviction order as illegal as it was not backed by a court decision.