Ostapenko vows to remove “Russian narratives” from Dormition Cathedral

Head of the Lavra Reserve Ostapenko. Photo: screenshot from the Suspilne Novyny YouTube channel

Maksym Ostapenko, director general of the National Reserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra,” said that as part of the restoration of the Dormition Cathedral, all “Russian narratives” would be removed from its interior. According to the official, the decision will concern all elements of the paintings that were “packed” into the cathedral’s decoration during the period when it was used by the UOC.

“I hope that, as part of the restoration of the Dormition Cathedral, all Russian narratives that were packed into it during the rule of the UOC will be removed,” Ostapenko stressed at a press conference in Kyiv. The head of the reserve paid particular attention to plans to remove images of the Lavra abbot, Metropolitan Pavel (Lebid).

Ostapenko is convinced that the cathedral’s existing paintings contain “symbolic semantic narratives” that were allegedly used to exert ideological influence on Ukrainians. “I hope there will be not only no portraits of Pavel there, but also none of the many other symbolic semantic narratives that were embedded there to brainwash Ukrainians, unfortunately,” the director general added.

Instead of the current decoration, the reserve intends to restore the cathedral’s “Ukrainian Baroque identity,” which, according to Ostapenko, was originally embedded in the project for the shrine’s restoration.

As the UOJ reported, Ostapenko earlier spoke about whether the fresco of Seraphim of Sarov in the Lavra would be painted over, explaining that such an action would require the relevant permission from the Ministry of Culture. He also allowed for the possibility that the frescoes might not be destroyed but preserved for display “to show how Moscow zombification worked”; however, this was no longer mentioned this time.

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