The conflict between Ukraine and Russia has taken a new turn as the Ukrainian authorities arrested a prominent Orthodox priest for allegedly justifying Russian aggression and cursing President Volodymyr Zelensky. Metropolitan Pavel, the abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery, one of the holiest sites for Orthodox Christians, was placed under house arrest on Saturday after a court ruled against him.
According to the Associated Press, Pavel denied that he ever supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and claimed that his arrest was politically motivated. He also said that he never cursed Zelensky, but only warned him of the consequences of his actions. “I am accepting this,” he said before authorities placed an ankle monitor on him. “Christ was crucified on the cross, so why shouldn’t I accept this?”
The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which until this year followed the leadership of the Moscow Patriarchate. The UOC has been suspected by many Ukrainians of being a pro-Russian fifth column and a source of espionage and sabotage. The Ukrainian security services have raided several UOC holy sites, claiming to find evidence of Russian involvement. The monks at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery were ordered to leave by March 29, but they refused to do so.
The UOC supporters gathered outside the monastery on Saturday to protest Zelensky’s actions and to sing hymns. They argued that they are loyal Ukrainians and that their faith should not be persecuted. “Look at me. I’m in priest’s clothes, with a Ukrainian flag and a cross around my neck. Could you say that I’m pro-Russian?” a 21-year-old seminary student said.
The U.N. High Commission for Human Rights expressed its concern last week that Ukraine’s “state actions against the UOC” could be “discriminatory” and urged the country to give a “fair trial” to anyone charged with a crime. The Kremlin also condemned the raid on the monastery, calling it evidence that Kyiv is “at war with the Russian Orthodox Church.” The spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church called the move “an act of intimidation” against the only remaining institution “where people both in Russia and Ukraine sincerely pray for peace.”
The arrest of Pavel comes as Russia continues its military offensive against Ukraine, shelling cities and towns in southern and eastern Ukraine with heavy artillery fire. The Kremlin’s forces have suffered setbacks on the battlefield and are preparing for a possible slowdown in combat over the winter. They appear to have settled on a strategy of making Ukraine unlivable for those who have not already fled the country.
The conflict between Ukraine and Russia has been raging since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and supported separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. More than 14,000 people have been killed and more than a million have been displaced by the war. The international community has imposed sanctions on Russia and provided diplomatic and military support to Ukraine, but has failed to stop the violence or resolve the political crisis.
The situation in Ukraine is complex and tense, and it involves not only political and military issues, but also religious and cultural ones. The Orthodox Church plays a significant role in both countries’ identities and histories, and its divisions reflect the deep divisions within Ukrainian society. The arrest of Pavel is likely to inflame those divisions and escalate the conflict further.
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