Year of prayer vigil for the Lavra – Net recalls how it began

Since March 29, 2023, the National Kyiv-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Reserve unilaterally terminated the agreement with the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and announced the eviction of the monks from the monastery.

In response to this dreadful news, believers turned to prayer. Thousands of Orthodox Kyiv residents came to the Lavra on this day. The churches could not accommodate all the worshippers, and people received communion on the street. And since then, exactly a year has passed, during which priests and laypeople have prayed every day for the preservation of the sanctuary. Today, photos and videos of the first day of the prayerful standing for the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra are being published on social media.

“On March 10, the National Reserve ‘Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra’ sent a message to the monastery about the termination of the agreement, based on which the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra used the so-called Lower Lavra, from March 29,” commented the UOC lawyer, Archpriest Nikita Chekman, on the situation at the time, calling the actions of the Reserve unlawful. He stated that the monastery filed a lawsuit and would defend its rights in court.

Legal proceedings are ongoing at this point, with several panels of judges having changed, and many judges recusing themselves. Obviously, they do not want to be involved in depriving monks and believers of their place for prayer and turning the world-famous Orthodox sanctuary into a museum. This is essentially what was done with the Dormition Cathedral and the Refectory of the Venerable Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves in the Upper Lavra. The monks are trying to regain the right to pray in these churches, never losing hope that they will once again be filled with believers.

However, prayer in the monastery has not ceased for a single day over this past year. Initially, despite rain, snow, and bad weather, believers gathered on the monastery grounds. And when access to the Lower Lavra was closed, they gathered near it. Every day, dozens of Orthodox Christians, enduring attacks from so-called activists, come to their sanctuary and lift their prayers to the Lord God, the Most Holy Mother of God, hoping for their protection and the preservation of the holy abode.

Today, a year later, people on social media are recalling how it all began. Priests and believers do not lose hope in the mercy of the Lord, that all trials will end, and the Lavra's churches will once again be filled with people, allowing everyone to pay homage to the Venerable Pechersk Saints by their holy relics.