the Kremlin denounces a “war” against the Russian Church – RT in French

The Kremlin spokesman defended the Russian Orthodox Church, victim according to him of a “war” led by Ukraine, while an important monastery under the Patriarchate of Moscow was raided in kyiv by Ukrainian intelligence.

Questioned on November 22, Dmitri Peskov described the search carried out by the Ukrainian intelligence services (SBU) at the Lavra of the Caves in kyiv, an important religious building under the Patriarchate of Moscow, as a new episode in the war waged against the Russian orthodoxy.

“In fact, the Ukrainian side has been waging war on the Russian Orthodox Church for a long time. I think that this incident must be considered as another link in the chain of these acts of hostility towards the Russian Orthodox Church,” he lamented.

The press service of the Patriarchate of Moscow denounced an “act of intimidation” towards Ukrainian believers. “We pray for our fellow believers […]who become victims of lawlessness, and we call on all kind-hearted people to do their utmost to stop this persecution,” he wrote in a statement.

As the TASS agency recalls, on November 13, the SBU opened a criminal investigation into the alleged interpretation of “songs” evoking Russia in one of the Lavra churches.

Excavations at the entrance

On Telegram, the SBU described the measurement operation as “counterintelligence” with the stated objective of “countering the subversive activities of Russian special services in Ukraine”. The search was carried out “jointly with the national police and the national guard”.

These measures are taken to prevent the use [du monastère] as the center of the “Russian world”.

Pilgrims could enter to pray, after having nevertheless declined their identity and shown the contents of their bag to armed agents dressed in khaki.

Ukraine’s security services said they were “carrying out checks on people […] concerning their involvement in illegal activities to the detriment of the sovereignty of the Ukrainian state”. “These measures are taken to prevent the use [du monastère] as the center of the ‘Russian world’,” they added, without giving further details.

Two other monasteries raided

The SBU said on Facebook that it had carried out a similar raid on two monasteries and the local diocese in the Rivne region (north-west of the country).

kyiv Caves Lavra is the oldest monastery in Ukraine. It was founded in the 11th century and its current site covers more than 20 hectares in the Ukrainian capital. This site has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1990.

The Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I formalized on January 6, 2019 the schism between the Russian Orthodox Church and that of Ukraine. In October 2018, he had already announced the recognition of the Church of Ukraine, ending 332 years of supervision by the Patriarchate of Moscow in the country. Until now, the kyiv Patriarchate, self-proclaimed after the country’s independence in 1992, was not recognized by any Orthodox Church in the world.

The Patriarchate of Moscow, which has a large number of parishes in the country, had denounced this schism and feared violent or legal actions to dispossess it for the benefit of the Church of Ukraine.