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UOC-MP bans Lavra's acting abbot from ministry

The Moscow Patriarchate accused the archimandrite of schism.

UOC-MP bans Lavra's acting abbot from ministry
Photo: Orthodox Church of Ukraine

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate has imposed a ban on a former monk of the Holy Dormition Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery, Archimandrite Avraamiy (Lotysh), who was endorsed by the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), Metropolitan Epifaniy, as the acting abbot of the monastery as part of the OCU.

The UOC Information and Education Department said that the disciplinary penalty was imposed for "falling into schism and gross violation of the oath of a clergyman".

"For actions that violate the 10th, 11th and 39th canons of the Holy Apostles, the 2nd canon of the Council of Antioch, by the decree of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine of 29 March 2023, Archimandrite Avraamiy (Lotysh) is banned from ministry without the right to receive the Holy Mysteries of Christ," the UOC said in a statement.

After his appointment, Archimandrite Avraamiy appealed to the monastery's brethren to recognize the new canonical reality of the existence in Ukraine of the Local Orthodox Church, which was granted the Tomos of autocephaly, and the canonically elected Primate, His Beatitude Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine. He urged the brethren to remain in the Lavra as part of the OCU.

According to LB.ua's own sources, shortly before addressing the monks of the UOC, Avraamiy had a personal conflict with the hierarch of the UOC-MP, Metropolitan Pavlo (Lebed), after which he made the decision to join the OCU.

Avraamiy's address to the brethren took place around 3 p.m., and the UOC banned him from ministry at about 6 p.m. Instead, none of the representatives of the UOC who fled to Russia, neither Metropolitan Lazar, who heads the Simferopol and Crimean dioceses that have passed under the omophorion of the Russian Orthodox Church, nor the head of the Rovenky diocese, which split from the UOC, Archbishop Arkadiy (Taranov), who fled, were banned from ministry by the UOC-MP.

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