Journalists find house of Russian-linked church's Metropolitan measuring 580 square metres

Bihus.info journalists have released pictures of Metropolitan Pavlo's "small house" in the village of Voronkiv, Kyiv Oblast, which turned out to be a two-storey house of 580 square metres with outbuildings and a gazebo behind a strong and high fence [Metropolitan Pavlo, or Petro Lebid, is the former abbot of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, or Kyiv Monastery of the Caves – ed.]

Source: Bihus.info

Quote from a journalist: "For a churchman, a small house is a two-storey house of 580 square metres built on a 40-acre plot. There is another two-storey guest house of 170 square metres, a gazebo, and a guardhouse on the same plot. Apparently, the latter is where the highly spiritual martyr was imprisoned."

Details: The journalist notes that the mansion at 46 Molodizhna Street in Voronkiv was put up for sale in 2016 for US$1,300,000.

The ad stated that the house was furnished with products made by Italian and English craftsmen, and the rooms were decorated with expensive furniture.

It said that the floor was covered with marble and German parquet and was heated. The chandeliers are Czech, and the appliances came from an expensive manufacturer. The description stated that the house was very warm and cosy.

The journalists also noticed initials on the wall, AP, or LP, which may match the initials of Pavlo Lebid.

According to Bihus.info, another 546-square-metre house belonging to Metropolitan Pavlo is located in the Pechersk district (Kyiv).

The journalists note that in the late 90s and early 2000s, "the churchmen just illegally seized the land on which the estate stands from a man whose family lived here in the early 20th century."

The two-storey house with an attic is reported to have a Turkish bath, sauna, swimming pool, wine cellar, and a separate lift. And it may be worth more than a million US dollars.  

Background: 

On 1 April, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court in Kyiv placed Metropolitan Pavlo (Petro Lebid) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), the former abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, under round-the-clock house arrest until 30 May on suspicion of inciting sectarian hatred and condoning Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine.

During the court hearing, the issue of Pavlo's place of residence arose. He asked that if a restrictive measure in the form of house arrest was imposed, he should be left in the Lavra, where he has lived for 29 years. However, prosecutors noted that he was registered at a different address, and the Lavra belongs to the state. 

Pavlo said that he has a "small house" that he "was trying to sell, but no one had bought it." He also said that he had given away all its contents - beds, washing machines, a refrigerator, etc. - and there is nothing there now. But the metropolitan noted that now "exile has to be spent there."

The court placed him under round-the-clock house arrest at his address on Molodizhna Street in the village of Voronkiv, Boryspil district, Kyiv Oblast.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!