Authorities turn UOC’s Krupytsia Monastery into restricted site – media
Security forces and reserve staff have restricted the sisters’ access to the church and to food supplies.
The nuns of the St. Nicholas Convent of the UOC have found themselves under what amounts to a siege. According to the Dozor Telegram channel, museum staff and security personnel have imposed on the Orthodox sisters a regime comparable to prison conditions.
Representatives of the reserve have completely blocked the nuns’ access to the monastery church. The sisters have also lost the ability to enter the buildings where food supplies are stored. Police officers have established strict control over all parcels brought by parishioners. Law enforcement officers even cut open loaves of bread to check for hidden items. Their treatment of the nuns has significantly worsened.
Pressure on the community has also been accompanied by personal attacks during the investigation. During the questioning of Abbess Dorothea, a police officer shouted at the sisters and accused them of lying. The officer equated the reserve with the state and ended his remarks by declaring that there is no God. During the same period, museum staff appropriated the abbess’s personal icons – images of St. Nicholas from the 11th–13th centuries and of the Mother of God. The abbess has documents proving that these holy items were personally gifted to her, but the authorities effectively stole them. The health of the abbess, who is battling cancer, seriously deteriorated after eye surgery.
Earlier, law enforcement authorities opened a criminal case against the director of the reserve. Officials tried to drive the nuns out of the monastery in the winter of 2026 before the end of the heating season. Despite the persecution, the sisters remain in the monastery and continue to pray.
As the UOJ previously reported, police armed with weapons are “guarding” the monastery from the nuns and parishioners. The authorities also took the sisters’ personal icons and reliquary.
