"Believers ask about other shrines awaiting to be returned," - OCU speaker
"I think it's a symbol of the movement to victory. It is too early to talk about a complete victory that is obvious. But the fact that this is an important sign, a milestone, a significant achievement of the church and Ukrainian society – that the All – Ukrainian and world shrine gets rid of the spirit of the "Russian world" and returns to service to God and the Ukrainian people – is undoubtedly true," the archbishop stressed in the show "Time: Online" with Maria Skibinska on Channel 5.
He explained that despite the war, which has been going on for almost nine years, there are still those who do not understand what the cause of the suffering of the Ukrainian people is and how it is connected with the ideology of the "Russian world" – and how it is connected with the activities of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine, with its structures and narratives, which it has been promoting for decades and continues to promote.
The cleric stressed that the return of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is important because it has been one of the leading spiritual centers for our people and for the entire orthodoxy for thousands of years.
"We have taken important but initial steps on this path (of its return – Ed.)," said Yevstratiy (Zorya).
He reminded that Metropolitan Epifaniy called on the clergy of the Lavra to reject non-canonical, illegal subordination to the Moscow Patriarchate and unite in the OCU.
He also spoke about the Ukrainian shrines believers are waiting to return.
"People ask questions about such shrines as the Pochayiv Lavra, the Svyatogorsk monastery. But just as in the case of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra: first of all, you should act gradually, carefully, wisely but steadily," the cleric said.
"It's time to end the things that have been happening for years, decades when the main Ukrainian shrines were a constant source of spreading Russian neo-imperial ideology," he added.
