Ukrainian Orthodox worshippers gather in Kyiv monastery as eviction looms

Believers and priests leave a church after a service led by Metropolitan Onufriy, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, accused of being linked to Moscow, in the compound of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 29, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

Hundreds of worshippers gathered at a Kyiv monastery on Wednesday for what could be the last service their branch of the Orthodox Church holds there because it faces eviction following allegations it has links to Moscow.

Against the backdrop of Russia's war on Ukraine, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) has been ordered by the government to leave the vast 980-year old Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery complex by the end of Wednesday.

Believers pray outside a church during a service led by Metropolitan Onufriy, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, accused of being linked to Moscow, in the compound of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 29, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

The government says the UOC broke tenancy agreements and constructed buildings illegally. The UOC denies this and says the government has not shown it any documents proving this.

More broadly, Kyiv also accuses the UOC, the second-largest Orthodox Church in Ukraine, of maintaining ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, which has supported Moscow's invasion of its neighbour.

The UOC says it broke all links with the Russian Church in May 2022, about three months after Russia's invasion.

Believers pray outside a church during a service led by Metropolitan Onufriy, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, accused of being linked to Moscow, in the compound of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 29, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

The crowd that gathered in one of the Lavra's churches on Wednesday morning spilled out into a courtyard outside as flakes of snow fell around them.

One UOC priest, Father Rustik, said he had travelled several hundred kilometres from the Dnipropetrovsk region to attend the service.

"I believe that the monks here are being unlawfully expelled, and the property and churches for which we worked many years are being taken away," he told Reuters.

Believers receive communion outside a church after a service led by Metropolitan Onufriy, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, accused of being linked to Moscow, in the compound of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 29, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

More than 50 UOC clergy have been arrested since Russia's invasion on charges including treason and collaboration with Russia. The UOC says it has seen no evidence to support the charges.

Metropolitan Pavlo, a senior clergyman at the Lavra, has said the UOC will not leave the monastery.

Kostyantyn Krainyk, deputy head of the Ukrainian state body responsible for the monastery, has not made clear what will happen if the UOC does not leave though he has said a government commission will make decisions on questions related to the tenancy agreement.

Believers pray outside a church during a service led by Metropolitan Onufriy, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, accused of being linked to Moscow, in the compound of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 29, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

"(The UOC) will simply stop using (the Lavra complex). As for when they will vacate it, the commission will decide," he said.

(Editing by Timothy Heritage)

FILE PHOTO: Domes are seen at a compound of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko