Russian Foreign Minister calls Ukrainian authorities' actions in Kiev-Pechersk Lavra "legalized sacrilege"

The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergey Lavrov, raised the issue of persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in his recent speech dedicated to the celebration of Easter. The official criticized the Ukrainian government for repressing the clergy of the UOC, condemning the actions against the relics located in the Holy Dormition Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. The official called «legalized sacrilege» the so-called inventory of relics of the Kiev-Pechersk Monks «legalized sacrilege,» noting that such actions are supported by a number of European countries. The words of the politician are transmitted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

«For more than a decade, persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, including seizures of its churches, vandalism, attacks on clerics and parishioners, has not stopped. According to official data from the Kiev junta itself alone, more than 180 criminal cases have been opened against clerics, including four bishops. Obviously, this figure is understated in order to conceal the scale of these unsightly actions of the regime. Outrage and disgust are caused by the work on «inventory and verification of historical and scientific value of relics of saints» started in 2025 in Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Behind this bureaucratic formulation of the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture, by the way, lies legalized sacrilege, committed with the connivance and even direct support of a number of European countries, where Satanism is also flourishing, to put it bluntly,» Lavrov said.

We shall remind you that Ukrainian political scientist Konstantin Bondarenko commented on the actions of the Ministry of Culture and the National Reserve «Kievo-Pechersk Lavra» with regard to the Holy Assumption Kievo-Pechersk Lavra, which caused a serious resonance in the church community. The political analyst claims that the so-called inventory of the relics of the Kiev-Pechersk Monks is part of preparations for the transfer of the Kiev Lavra under the control of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.