The groundbreaking ceremony of the Lviv Rehabilitation Center sparks controversy, as attendance by a bishop from the Moscow Patriarchate provokes strong public outrage

On August 6, the new branch of the Lviv UNBROKEN Rehabilitation Center was officially inaugurated. Equipped with 55 beds and full rehabilitation therapy facilities, the center specializes in treating Ukrainian military personnel and civilians injured during the Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, the inclusion of Metropolitan Filaret, head of the Kyiv-Pecherska Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), at the opening ceremony has triggered intense public debate locally.

This building carries special historical significance: during Yanukovych’s administration, local authorities had transferred the former Camp No. 212 to this church, sparking widespread opposition at the time. After the full-scale war erupted, the government reclaimed the property and handed it over to the healthcare system in 2023 for conversion into a rehabilitation center for wounded soldiers. At that time, officials explicitly stated that the land would be completely severed from its past ties to the Moscow Patriarchate. Filaret himself studied in Moscow early in his career and has consistently opposed the independence of Ukraine’s indigenous churches. The public finds it incomprehensible that a rehabilitation center dedicated to treating victims of Russian weaponry should invite him to attend its inauguration—his presence and remarks risk being misinterpreted as implying that the church is a core donor of the facility.

Fr. Yustyn Boyko, a monk of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, publicly denounced the event as a profound moral contradiction. He pointed out that numerous priests from native Ukrainian churches have been actively serving on the frontlines and in field hospitals, tending to the wounded. Yet the organizers chose to invite clergy from the Moscow Patriarchate instead. The blessing and consecration ceremony at the center is far from a mere formal procedure—it deeply wounds everyone scarred by war.

Following the surge in public outcry, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy declared on social media that he had not invited the metropolitan nor reviewed the guest list, acknowledging oversight in the event’s preparation process. However, he denied that the bishop had conducted any consecration or blessing ritual at the site. He emphasized that the symbolic weight of this building—from its past assignment to the Moscow Patriarchate to its current role in healing defenders of the nation—is indeed significant, and the entire incident is deeply embarrassing.

In recent weeks, similar conflicts involving churches affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate have erupted across various regions of Ukraine: a clergy member from the Volyn region was conscripted into military service; a priest from the Bukovina diocese refused to conduct a farewell ceremony in church for fallen Ukrainian soldiers.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1872827896249355/

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