A state commission to “inspect” the incorrupt relics of the Kiev Caves Lavra arrived at the monastery this morning.
The group, consisting of employees of the Ministry of Culture, the state-operated Kiev Caves Museum-Preserve, and various specialists, took an angle grinder to the locks on the buildings leading to the Near and Far Caves, reports Orthodox Life.
They replaced the locks on the buildings, thus barring the monks of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church who rebuilt and cared for the monastery over the past 30 years.
The commission was created by order of the Ministry of Culture on March 5, tasked with checking the “presence of the remains of saints in the tombs of the Near and Far Caves of the Kiev Caves Lavra National Preserve,” and “determining the historical and scientific value of the remains of the saints.” Items identified as “cultural values” are to be catalogued.
According to the Union of Orthodox Journalists, they even plan to take samples for DNA testing.
The Caves are home to the incorrupt relics of more than 120 saints.
According to the monastery’s lawyer, Archpriest Nikita Chekman, the Orthodox monks refused to participate in the work of the commission, considering it a blasphemy to “inspect” the relics as “cultural values.”
“After reviewing the [Ministry of Culture’s] order itself and communicating with commission members during the negotiation process, the monastery brotherhood unanimously and with the blessing of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine decided not to participate in the work of this commission,” Fr. Nikita explained.
He continued:
Why? Because the commission includes a number of scientists, doctors, including anatomists, histologists, embryologists, and in particular, a doctor of veterinary sciences, a member of the Pirogov Commission for re-embalming bodies, etc. That is, the essence of the inspection is to conduct some unclear research on God’s holy saints whose holy incorruptible relics are located in the Caves of the Kiev Caves Lavra.
For almost 1,000 years, the monks of the Holy Dormition-Kiev Caves Lavra have been taking care of the holy relics, celebrating Divine services, and the faithful have been reverently venerating the relics of God’s holy saints. During the Soviet era, the Church was removed from the custody of the holy relics, but at the end of the last century, historical justice was restored—the holy relics of God’s saints were returned to the Church, and the Church has since been fulfilling its obedience and duty [to preserve the remains of the saints].
But we see that currently some incomprehensible things are happening, so the monks have decided that it’s impossible to participate in these blasphemous actions.
Furthermore, according to Fr. Nikita, considering that several court cases are still underway concerning the use of the territories of the Upper and Lower Lavra, the Ministry of Culture’s actions are actually illegal.
“Therefore, the Lavra brotherhood made the appropriate decision,” he said, noting that further appeals will be brought to the courts.
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Representatives of the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” and the Ukrainian state continue to show disdain for the holy churches of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
There have been several scandals concerning the desecration of churches of the Holy Dormition-Kiev Caves Lavra ever since the state evicted the Orthodox Church from the Upper Lavra, including the monastery’s main cathedrals, at the end of 2022. The Lavra became a state-owned cultural object under the godless authorities of the Soviet Union, and the Ukrainian government continues this practice.
Dozens, if not hundreds, of churches across the country have also become scenes of violence, as OCU representatives have physically seized churches, often attacking Orthodox Christians, including clergy and hierarchs. Criminologists even believe that schismatic-nationalistic raiders attempted to murderHis Eminence Metropolitan Theodosy of Cherkasy in the seizure of the Archangel Michael Cathedral in October.
More recently, a video that began circulating over the weekend shows an OCU “priest,” in a word to his congregation, blaspheming against holy houses of God.
“UOC [the canonical Church—Ed.] churches are only meant to be public toilets, since they’re enemies of our state,” the schismatic cleric declares.
The Kiev Caves Lavra’s Holy Dormition Cathedral has been desecrated by the “services” of the schismatic OCU, and the Refectory Church of Sts. Anthony and Theodosius has been abused a number of times. In January 2023, just weeks after the UOC was expelled from the Upper Lavra, a concert was held featuring songs about killing Russians and destroying Moscow, which “Jesus blesses,” according to the group Chorea Kozatska.
The church has also been used to host arts and crafts shows, and in early December, an ecumenical military prayer breakfast was held, with representatives of various Christian, Muslim, and Jewish groups.
On Friday, December 13, the Ukrainian channel 1+1 aired a cooking show that was taped in the refectory church building on November 29, featuring chef and restaurateur Evgeny Klopotenko, reports the Union of Orthodox Journalists.
The show caused outrage in Ukrainian society, among representatives of various religious. “In the Refectory Church of the Kiev Caves Lavra, there’s everything except worship now,” the Rivne Dioceseof the canonical UOC wrote on Facebook.
“A church is a place consecrated for prayer, repentance, and spiritual growth, not a space for gastronomic experiments or entertainment events,” the diocese continued.
The local Roman Catholic bishop condemned the program as a manifestation of the “hydra” of communism “reviving its tentacles today” and called on the state to investigate the matter.
The schismatic OCU doesn’t know what to do with such churches that have been “liberated” from Russian control, as the Ukrainian state speaks of it, said political analyst Alexei Kusch.
“You can shout about ‘returning shrines’ till you’re blue in the face, but if the OCU is tolerant of such incidents, when they organize such shows in a church, it simply confirms its status as a state church that sacralizes the nation and secularizes faith, replacing God with the nation, and substituting spirituality with secular ideology,” Kusch added.
Given the scandal created by the cooking show, Chef Klopotenko offered his “sincere apologies,” while also accusing the canonical UOC of separating the people from God and Russian propagandists of creating a fake scandal.
Likewise, Maxim Ostapenko, director of the state’s Kiev Caves Lavra Museum-Preserve, pinned the scandal not on those who filmed the show, but on “pro-Russian forces.” Noting that the show was filmed in the refectory part of the church building, he called on everyone to “be attentive to provocations that are often spread by the enemy.”
Source: orthochristian.com
