21 March 2023, Tuesday, 13:43 280

Culture Ministry Closes Access To Caves In Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra To UOC MP

Editor: Daria Zubkova

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The Ministry of Culture closed access to the caves and relics in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate (UOC MP).

This is stated in the message of the UOC MP, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

On March 20, a letter was sent to the monastery from the leadership of the national reserve Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra with a message that from now on access to the Near and Far Caves by the museum will be stopped due to the work of a commission that will determine the level of preservation of "cultural values".

Also, in connection with this, access to the Holy Cross Church, the Church of the Conception of St. Anne and the Temple of all Reverend Pechersky (Warm Church) is suspended. "In other words, prayer in these churches will not be possible," said Metropolitan Klyment of Nizhyn and Pryluky, the head of the Information and Educational Department of the UOC.

The letter from the Ministry of Culture states that as a result of the creation of a commission that will determine the "availability, preservation, and state of preservation of cultural values," "access to objects (i.e., temples and caves) will be limited."

"Taking into account the fact that Minister O. Tkachenko called the imperishable relics of the Reverend Pechersky "cultural values" and "museum exhibits", the method of determining the state of preservation of these shrines is cause for concern. After all, during the totalitarian Soviet era, the atheist authorities widely conducted campaigns to open the relics in order to show their condition preservation. These campaigns were accompanied by desecration of the shrine, the relics were taken out of the coffins, and the coverings were removed from them for detailed description and display in museum windows. The closure of the caves by the reserve without warning is an unprecedented manifestation of the restriction of the rights of Ukrainian believers, who these days are coming en masse from different regions in hope bowed to the Kyiv-Pechersk shrines," the UOC MP emphasizes.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate has no intention of moving out of the monasteries and other premises of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra terminates the contract for the use of the monastery with the UOC MP, the monks must leave by March 29.