Ministry of Justice to check UOC-MP agreement on lease of Lower Lavra facilities

Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy Yevhenia Kravchuk told this in a comment to Ukrinform.

"In the case of the upper Lavra, the contract simply ended, and it was not extended... Regarding the lower Lavra, a decree of the Cabinet of ministers was adopted (in 2013 - Ed.), and the lease agreement does not specify when it expires. Even if the lease is indefinite, it should be indicated in the document, but this is not the case there," Kravchuk said.

The MP has noted that specialists of the Ministry of Justice will be involved in the audit, who will analyze the procedural part: "There are certain inconsistencies of this agreement with the current legislation because, in fact, any contract must have some terms."

Meanwhile, Kravchuk noted that the results of the activities of the Interagency Working Group, which develops proposals related to the activities of the churches, will be announced in late January.

In particular, she said, the government is currently working on a draft law that will allow banning in court the activities of religious organizations subordinate to the aggressor country.

"There are parliamentary developments, but we are waiting for the registration of the draft law from the Cabinet of Ministers, which the Ministry of Justice is working on. There is the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience. This draft is at the final stage. It still needs to be processed with various departments. I hope that it will appear in January," Kravchuk said.

The results of checking the UOC-MP for compliance with church canons, including determining ties with Moscow and the Russian Orthodox Church, are also expected from the State Service for Ethnic Policy. The MCIP also presents conclusions on the existence of violations of the monument protection legislation, in particular, "on the issue of restoration works - whether they were carried out with the appropriate permits, on the construction and demolition of buildings".

The interdepartmental working group on the preparation of proposals and recommendations for the organization of certain tasks related to the activities of religious organizations in Ukraine was established in December 2022 to check whether the UOC-MP complies with the conditions for the use of the property on the territory of the National Kyiv-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Reserve.

As reported, the Primate of the OCU held a divine service in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra for the first time on January 7. It became possible after the state regained ownership of the Holy Assumption Cathedral and the Refectory Church.