Lukashenko: Not a single monk from the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra will be left without help in Belarus

No monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra will be left without help in Belarus. This was stated by President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting with reporters of foreign and Belarusian mass media, BelTA informs.

"These people are not guilty of anything. We will do everything possible for the monks of the monastery to find their refuge in Belarus," assured Alexander Lukashenko.

As reported, the Synod of the Belarusian Orthodox Church said the other day that in case of forced eviction of the monks from the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, they might find a place for further monastic exploits in the monastic cloisters of the BOC. The new order of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine to inhabitants of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra to leave the territory of the monastery and also high probability of monks' eviction is a violation of law and demonstrative act of disregard of human values and rights of believers, the BOC is sure.

The Belarusian Orthodox Church also calls upon the Ukrainian authorities not to allow the removal of church relics that have been kept in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra for centuries and that are spiritual resources for all Slavic nations. There is a great risk that the relics may be damaged or lost altogether as a result of transportation. The BOC fears that icons and relics of holy ascetics may end up in museum collections or even in the private collections of people, often far from the faith and piety.