The Shevchenkovsky Court of Kyiv granted the petition of the investigators of the SBU and the Kyiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, sending the former governor of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Metropolitan Pavel (in the world Petr Dmitrievich Lebed) under round-the-clock house arrest until May 30.
He is suspected of inciting sectarian hatred and justifying the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, writes “UP”. According to the investigation, from the beginning of a full-scale war, Metropolitan Pavel justified armed aggression while communicating with believers and spoke negatively against the OCU, which could cause an aggressive attitude towards them.
How tells the BBC, on Saturday morning, the Security Service of Ukraine searched the Metropolitan’s house and handed him a notice of suspicion. He was interrogated for several hours, and then taken to court to choose a measure of restraint. Pavel himself announced the handing over of suspicion in a video message, and later confirmed the SBU. The Security Service of Ukraine presented the intercepted telephone conversations of the Metropolitan:
We are talking about two events: according to the investigation, in May 2022, during a telephone conversation with Tamara Fedyuk, Pavel made remarks that justify the aggression of the Russian Federation, and also recorded a video message to the believers of the UOC-MP, in which he humiliated the OCU and punished “to be smart and not follow the instructions of the “mad tormentors”. When asked in court about whether it was his voice on the recordings published by the SBU, Pavel replied: “Perhaps he said something in jest.”
Referring to the conclusion of a forensic linguistic examination as confirmation, the SBU reports on its official website:
“In his public speeches [подозреваемый Лебедь] repeatedly offended the religious feelings of Ukrainians, humiliated the views of believers of other faiths and tried to create hostile attitudes towards them, and also made statements justifying or denying the actions of the aggressor country.
According to Metropolitan Pavel himself, SBU officers handed him a notice of suspicion on Saturday morning, around half past seven:
“Saturday, a day off, they didn’t give them the opportunity to pray. Well, God help them, now there will be searches in my house. They said that I cooperate with Russia, and there is another inter-religious incitement, they also say that I cursed the president. Never in my life this never happened and never will. Therefore, I ask you to keep the peace. Pray, the church is being persecuted. For nothing and for nothing.”
SBU reported suspicion to Metropolitan of the UOC Pavel
Just yesterday, the Air Force notes, it seemed that the situation with the Lavra was at an impasse. Metropolitan Pavlo, with the help of parishioners, seminarians and monks, successfully repelled all attempts by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine to begin to take away premises from the UOC and describe property. On March 30, almost no one left the Lavra, although the property was mostly taken away. Pavel urged the parishioners to defend the premises of the Lavra, and not to let the commission into any church – until the decision of the court, which will begin to consider a lawsuit against the authorities on behalf of the UOC no earlier than the end of April.
Without a court decision, the UOC refuses to recognize and termination of the lease premises of the Lavra, and the competence of the state commission for the transfer and acceptance of property. In fact, Thursday and Friday became the victory of the UOC and Pavel: the Kiev authorities did not come up with what could be opposed to hundreds of grandmothers with children.
Alexander Tkachenko, Minister of Culture, emphasized that no one would use force, and churchmen would be evicted only by a court decision. It seemed that on Monday the commission of the Ministry of Culture would again come to the Lavra, and they would not let her in again. The situation without the use of force looked like a stalemate.
A couple of days ago, when journalists tried to find out from the authorities how they intended to get out of the current situation, they were hinted that an asymmetric decision was being prepared, not related to the forcible dispersal of believers.
On Saturday, the service said its word in the confrontation with the Lavra, which actually initiated a national campaign against the UOC and, according to the head of the SBU, Vasily Malyuk, Russian influence over the minds of its parishioners, in the fall of last year. The secret services decided to strike at the main opponent of the state in the dispute over the Lavra. It is Pavel who publicly calls on believers to resist, and it was he who blessed them for the physical protection of churches from the commission of the Ministry of Culture.
At the same time, the SBU dealt a blow to Pavel’s image by posting numerous photos of the decoration of his residence, which surprised many by their inconsistency with the traditional monastic lifestyle. But the main goal of the actions of the SBU is to isolate Pavel from the Lavra and from the monks.
Detention of Metropolitan Pavel.
There is doubt in church circles that without Paul, his supporters in the Lavra would quickly give up. Yes, and he will be able to coordinate their actions by phone. On Monday, the commission of the Ministry of Culture will make a second attempt to describe the property of the monastery. Then it will become completely clear whether the defense of the Lavra will change without its governor.
The situation near the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra on April 1, 2023.
Prosecutors during the trial noted the risk of the suspect escaping, pressure on witnesses, destruction or distortion of physical evidence. The lawyers objected to the satisfaction of the petition and asked to choose a milder measure of restraint – a personal obligation. One of them, Nikita Chekman, stated:
“There is a war between religious organizations in society. The church is separated from the state and it should not interfere.”
The bishop of the UOC-MP called the suspicion political and stated that he “was always against aggression.” Paul said:
“I would like Russia to leave us alone. I did nothing to accuse me of something. I have always been against aggression. I am now in Ukraine. This is my land. I know that this is a political order. They told me to go to the OCU. The SBU called me to the director of the museum and said that a criminal case should be opened against me. So they did. I will not figure out who, I will not settle scores. I accept everything as the will of God.”
During the court session, the question arose about the place of residence of Pavel. He asked, in the event of a preventive measure in the form of house arrest, to be left in the Lavra, where he has been living for 29 years. However, the prosecutors noted that he was registered at a different address, and the Lavra belongs to the state. The court placed him under round-the-clock house arrest using an electronic bracelet at an address on Molodezhnaya Street. Paul will be in Voronkov, Boryspil district, Kyiv region.
Saturday at OCU website an appeal from the OCU, Archimandrite Avraamy, by the Acting Viceroy of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra appeared. He assured that the brethren are praying for President Volodymyr Zelensky, and the “curses” of the former abbot of the Lavra, Metropolitan of the UOC-MP Pavel, are returning to him:
More Stories
Poll: which European countries are ready to defend their homeland to the last
K. Mitsotakis announced readiness for the fire season
Greece must transfer the Patriot PAC-3 system to Ukraine with US “guarantees” against the Turkish threat