A monk appointed from Russia may become Vicar of Pochayiv Lavra

According to "Za Zbruchem", this year, on the occasion of the Nativity of Christ, the information resources of the Pochaev Lavra for the first time prepared a Russian-language video clip with congratulations to the dean of the Lavra (the second person in the monastery after the vicar). It turned out to be hieromonk Zachariah (Kimlach), who came to Ukraine from the Krasnodar Territory of the Russian Federation.

The publication analyzed that in an interview with the Russian media outlet "Vera-Escom. Christian newspaper of the north of Russia" hieromonk Zachariah reported that he arrived in Ukraine from the city of Apsheronsk, Krasnodar Territory, where his father owns a construction company. He began his monastic life in the Timashevo Monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church, where, in 2003, he was tonsured as a monk and stayed for nine and a half years, then moved to Ukraine. In the Pochaev Lavra, he had been accepting confessions of visiting pilgrims for several years. He also was an assistant housekeeper (head of the monastery's economy), responsible for construction, repair work, heating, electricity, etc. At the beginning of 2020, in an interview published by the "Russian People's Line" website, the hieromonk already introduced himself as dean of the Lavra, that is, deputy vicar – Metropolitan Volodymyr.

"Obviously, given the recent heart operation, heart attack and the spread of information about the deterioration of Metropolitan Volodymyr's health, the UOC-MP understands the inevitability of the need to replace the head of the Pochayiv Lavra. Therefore, they are probably preparing in advance a candidate from the Russian Federation, hieromonk Zachariah, who is beneficial to the leadership, promoting his person in the media," the Za Zbruchem media sums up.