Ternopil Deputies Ask Government Not to Pass Pochayiv Monastery to Moscow Patriarchate
The decision in this regard was passed by the deputies of the Ternopil Regional Council on 13 September at the session of the Temporary Control Committee of the council regarding the check of the legitimacy of the transfer of the church complex in Pochayiv to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate.
Representatives of the regional council reported to Ostrоv that the members of the committee considered a draft address to Ukraine’s President, Speaker, Premier as to the unacceptability of consideration of the bill on exclusion of the Pochayiv Monastery from the list of objects which are not subject to privatization. The committee also heard an address of public organizations of the region.
The members of the committee decided to prepare an agreed text.
“The Temporary Committee will recommend the deputies of the regional council to vote at its regular plenary session for an address to the government regarding the annulment of the order of the Cabinet of Ministers of 2003 when the monastery was excluded from the Kremenets-Pochaiv Reserve and was passed for 49 years to the use of UOC (Moscow Patriarchate). And to the Head of the Supreme Council, heads of parliamentary factions and deputies from Ternopil Region calling them not to vote for Bill 9105 “On the list of monuments of the cultural heritage which are not subject to privatization” (regarding the exclusion of the buildings of the Pochayiv Monastery). The committee also is of the opinion that the deputies from Ternopil should address also the regional councils of a number of neighboring regions, Lviv, Volyn, Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk asking them to say their word in defense of the Ukrainian shrine, the Pochaiv Monastery,” noted the head of the Temporary Committee, Deputy Head of the regional council, Oleh Boberskyi.
According to the head of the Temporary Committee, an important role in the protection of the monastery should be played by the public of Ternopil Oblast and Ukraine in general as well as mass media.
