Ministry of Culture reinstates Ostapenko as director of Lavra reserve
Ostapenko returned to the Lavra reserve. Photo: OCU
On January 15, 2026, Minister of Culture Tetiana Berezhna dismissed Svitlana Kotliarevska from her post as acting director of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Preserve and returned Maksym Ostapenko to the leadership – he had held this position before Kotliarevska.
The Ministry of Culture did not disclose the reasons for Kotliarevska’s dismissal. The tasks set for Ostapenko include: “restoring the work of the Reserve and supporting the team, systematic work to safeguard the heritage that is part of Ukraine’s national security. As well as strengthening the institution’s capacity and developing its scholarly and museum work.”
Kotliarevska wrote on Facebook that she is proud of her “synergy” with Dumenko: “Through insane effort and hard work, we fought to achieve a historic event – the prayer service of clergy led by Metropolitan Epifaniy in the Far Caves and later in the Near Caves, at the relics of the Venerable Fathers.”
According to her, the Reserve and the OCU “side by side carried out a set of measures to preserve the remains of the saints in the Near and Far Caves.” The official claimed that among the people this is called the “drying of the relics of the Venerable Ones.”
She also emphasized that under her leadership the Reserve “made a quantum leap and succeeded in having the court reject all baseless motions by which the UOC tried to drag out the process.”
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that after Ostapenko’s dismissal in 2025, the Ministry of Culture criticized his work at the Reserve.
Read also
Lavra reserve head estimates damage to Dormition Cathedral at €15 million
Maksym Ostapenko said restoring the Dormition Cathedral would take at least a couple of years and require major funding.
DESS official says state should not govern the Church
A DESS official called for cooperation between the state and the Church for the benefit of citizens.
Poltava court upholds mobilization of Protestant pastor
A court in the Poltava region ruled that a prior criminal conviction and religious beliefs do not exempt a person from military service.
Ostapenko: Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra would not exist without Soviet-era reserve
The reserve director spoke about the Soviet museum’s role in saving the monastery, while stressing the need to rethink its history.
Metropolitan Anthony criticizes DESS order on Boryspil Eparchy
The UOC chancellor rejected officials’ findings, pointing to procedural violations in the DESS review.
Two more parishes in Sloviansk reregistered under OCU
The organizer behind the transfer of UOC communities in Sloviansk said the reregistration of churches would continue.