Everything will happen in accordance with the current legislation, - Danilov on the eviction of the UOC-MP from the Lavra
This was stated by the NSDC Secretary Alexey Danilov on Radio NV, as reported by Ukrinform.
It will be an ordinary day. Nothing so strategic, or global will happen. There are laws of our country that everyone will respect. Without exception. It doesn't matter if you love God, go there, or don't go there. It doesn't matter. All laws in our country will be observed," Danilov said when asked what he expects from the day of March 29, when the lease agreement between the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra and the UOC-MP expires.
He also noted that "the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is a museum owned by the state, and everything that concerns this museum complex will be decided by the state, not by some individuals who have decided for some reason how to defame our laws."
"We will not tolerate anyone disrespecting our laws. However, I can assure you that no one will be dragged out of there by their legs or subjected to any kind of violence. Everything will be done in accordance with the current legislation, and the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra museum complex will become a state institution. Will churches operate there? Yes, they will. Will services be held there? Yes, they will. But it will all be done in compliance with the laws of our country, and not with the artificial formations that were previously created here for certain events that were outside the law of our country. I want to remind you that if you believe that everything that happens in the world is the hand of God, then consider that it is God's hand that is at work here today. You cannot argue with God. Therefore, God has decided that on the 29th, you must vacate this monastery and move to another place," Danilov said.
The NSDC secretary recalled that the hierarchs of the UOC-MP stated that they had nothing to do with Muscovy, and at the same time, "Moscow priest Kirill Gundyaev told us how we should live here."
"Unfortunately, since 1991, there was a huge mistake that we did not put an end to it then, and a huge number of land plots were issued specifically for the construction of alleged structures. We thought that they were only related to God, but it turns out that a huge number of them were related to the FSB... They were doing disgraceful things here. I'm not saying that everyone was doing it, but the leadership, a certain number of them, were definitely doing it. We can't go on a leash now and not understand that this is a huge danger for our country. This is a matter of our security, and therefore we will resolve it in an appropriate legal way on the territory of our country,” Danilov said.
As reported, on March 10, the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra National Reserve sent a warning to the Holy Dormition Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (Monastery) of the UOC-MP to terminate the Agreement No. 2 of July 19, 2013, on the free use of religious buildings and other property by a religious organization on the basis of violations of the terms of the agreement identified by the Interagency Working Group. According to it, representatives of the UOC-MP must leave the Lavra premises by March 29.
The Vicar of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan Pavlo of the UOC-MP, said that the monks are not going to evict from the Lavra.
Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko said that the monks will be able to stay in the monastery after the state inspections are completed under certain conditions.
