Incident latest in a series of attempted takeovers of Orthodox churches by adherents of the so-called Moscow Patriarchate
A group of Orthodox faithful last month pitched tents near the location of a church with a 1,000 year history in the city of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky, Kyiv Region, setting up camp after their attempt to seize the Church of St. Michael failed.
That incident was the latest in a series of attempted takeovers of Orthodox churches by adherents of the so-called Moscow Patriarchate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC MP), who have been embroiled in conflicts over church property with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC KP), which was created after the Soviet Union fell apart.
In Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky, St. Michael’s Church is believed to have been the location of an Orthodox community before the medieval Kyivan Rus state was formally converted to Christianity in 988.
The church has been functioning as a museum since 1954 and was forcedly shut down on July 20 this year, when believers unsuccessfully attempted to seize it. They set up camp with a tent-church instead.
The crusaders, led by Father Anatoliy of the UOC MP, claim they need St. Michael’s because there are not enough churches to serve the Orthodox community in Pereyaslav Khmelnytskiy. They claimed to be merely carrying out a decree issued by the head of the UOC MP, Metropolitan Volodymyr.
Meanwhile, Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky mayor, Ivan Yakymenko, said there already are five Orthodox churches in the city, more than enough to serve the population of 31,000. In addition, Yakymenko said that three of the five churches are already under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate, while the Kyiv Patriarchate operates the other two.
According to museum workers, no more than 10 people come to worship at the tent-church on a daily basis. But the UOC MP has claimed up to 70 worshippers pray at the location every day.
Historical and archeological value
St. Michael’s is believed to stand at the location of a stone church originally built in the 10th century but destroyed in the 13th century by the invading Golden Horde led by Baty Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan. The church was not rebuilt until the 17th century and was part of a monastery complex in the 18th century.
The temple continued to function until World War II, when it was severely damaged. The Soviets used the church as a warehouse for flax and hemp.
By 1956, the building was repaired and opened as the Museum of Ukrainian National Dress from the 19th and 20th centuries. The museum was founded by Mikhailo Sikorskiy, who continues to work as its director to this day.
According to the museum workers, the creation of a museum at the location was the only sure way to preserve the religious buildings during Soviet times.
According to deputy museum director Vira Melnyk, not only is the church a monument of 17th century architecture, but the surrounding territory is great in historical and archeological value. The remnants of a palace and stone gates dating back to the 11th century have been found. Researchers believe the gates were rather massive and grandiose, rivaling the Golden Gates of Kyiv built around the same time. Remnants of 10 unique stone buildings have been identified at the location.
Meanwhile, Andriy Koval, a historical adviser to the Moscow Patriarchate, said that Orthodox Church metropolitans lived and studied in Pereyaslav Khmelnytskiy before moving to Kyiv in 1032.
“Thus, it just has to belong to the religious community,” he said.
The UOC MP began the campaign to take back the church in 2003. The UOC MP’s Father Anatoliy said that a petition requesting use of the church for religious services was supported by 500 locals.
Museum director Melnyk said that the museum did grant the churchgoers one-time use of the building for celebration of the Feast of St. Michael in November 2003, but that it was not a permanent agreement.
The press service of the Moscow Patriarchate said that Sikorsky and the other museum workers are being used as marionettes by local officials who want to take the land.
Museum loses visitors
According to a 2002 government regulation, buildings can only be returned to religious communities after their tenants (educational institutions, archival and cultural organizations) are provided with new premises.
“So far the actions of the Moscow Patriarchate are breaking Ukrainian law,” said Mayor Yakymenko.
According to Melnyk, the museum has not been provided with new premises.
“What they are trying to do is just throw us onto the street, as at the moment we don’t have any valid premises to store museum exhibits, let alone exhibit them,” she said. “We are not going to leave the church until we have somewhere to go.”
The Museum of Ukrainian National Dress is part of the “Pereyaslav” conservation area of 23 museums that includes the Museum of Ukrainian National Architecture. More than 200,000 people visited the museum last year. This year, the numbers has fallen to slightly more than 56,000 due to its forced shutdown.
Yakymenko said that new premises have not been identified for the museum.
He said that Hr 613,000 ($121,000) has been earmarked for reconstruction of the museum, and the building itself is currently under the protection of the national monuments service.
“We don’t mind the functioning of the museum on weekdays, with services on the weekends. We don’t mind to co-exist together with the museum, and its work was blocked by the initiative of the museum workers themselves,” Father Anatoliy said.
Kyiv Patriarchate takes side of museum
Archimandrite Yevstratiy, press secretary of the UOC KP, said that his Church turned to the museum with a request to use the premises, but the request was denied last year. The UOC KP sent a letter to the president of Ukraine, referring to the Moscow Patriarchate’s illegal invasion of the church and requested that he regulate the conflict. The letter to President Victor Yushchenko also outlined the UOC KP’s legalposition regard
“We do not think the picketers are parish volunteers, but simply hired by the Moscow Patriarchate,” Yevstratiy said. “The conflict itself isn’t religious in nature, it is purely a property one.”
Kyiv Orthodox faithful accuse Moscow Orthodox of conducting similar action since 1991.
Currently, the UOC KP is not looking to gain access to St. Michael’s Church after its initial legal attempts failed.
In the present conflict, the UOC KP said that it has taken the museum’s side.
Among other conflicts, Yevstratiy named the Church of St. Yekaterina in Chernihiv. That church was officially handed over to the Kyiv Patriarchate by city hall last year, but adherents of the Moscow Patriarchate have prevented Kyiv Patriarchate believers from taking up residence.
Even after a court ordered that the church be handed over to the UOC KP, Moscow Church believers set up a camp in Chernihiv in protest. Violence between protesting sides and police ensued last year, when KP believers tried to enter the church.
Another example provided by Yevstratiy is the conflict over the Church of the Resurrection in Ostroh, Rivne Region. He said that church has been blocked by the Moscow Patriarchate for the past 18 months, after parishioners left the UOC MP to join the UOC KP.
“The advantage in material terms is definitely in favor of the UOC MP, as they posses about two-thirds of all churches on Ukrainian territory, while according to the number of believers, the KP is more numerous. Across Ukraine, about 20 percent ascribe themselves to the MP, while about 30 percent to the KP,” Yevstratiy said.
“If the conflicts have grown softer within the last couple of years, it is only because the UOC MP has already gotten most of the property in its possession.”
