The Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications Mykola Tochitsky expressed his assessment regarding the dismissal of Maksym Ostapenko from the position of General Director of the National Reserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.” This decision was made due to his “weak position” on issues related to enforcing bans on the activities of Russian religious organizations, particularly the Moscow church.
This is reported by Kyiv24
On his Facebook page, Tochitsky welcomed the transfer of the Assumption Cathedral in Kaniv to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. He noted that “the process of cleansing Ukrainian shrines is a priority that requires effective solutions. Moreover, the activities of Russian religious organizations are prohibited by law. The dismissal of the General Director of the National Reserve ‘Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra’ is a response to the weak position in enforcing this law.”
Justification for the Dismissal and Reaction
According to the minister, the head of the reserve should have ensured that the “Moscow spirit” did not prevail in the Lavra. However, Tochitsky emphasized that the results of Ostapenko’s work over the year in office did not meet the challenges to Ukraine’s national security.
“Moscow priests have desecrated the Lavra, turning it into a place for trading faith and consumer goods. Unfortunately, the real changes that were expected for freeing the Lavra from the entrepreneurial spirit of the Moscow church have not occurred. The country does not have time to wait for the illegal trade, illegal rentals, uncontrolled presence of Moscow monks, and further destruction of monuments to finally stop.”
The Ministry of Culture reported that Ostapenko was dismissed on May 22 “due to improper fulfillment of contract conditions and identified violations in the activities of the reserve.” At the same time, late in the evening on May 21, he published a message on Facebook stating that he was dismissed without warnings or explanations, and without any official remarks regarding his work.