Ministry of Culture forms secret commission to check relics of Kyiv Cave saints

The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine has formed a special commission to “check the relics” of the Kyiv Cave Monks, who rest in the Holy Dormition Kyiv Cave Monastery. It is not known what kind of “inspection” the commission will conduct, as, according to the institution, the results of its work will be classified. This was reported by the Information and Education Department of the UOC.

It is reported that according to Order No. 214 of March 5, 2025, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine instructed the established commission to check “the presence of the remains of saints in the tombs of the Near and Far Caves of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve by May 30, as well as to determine the historical and scientific value of the remains of saints.”

It is noted that in the event that during the work of the commission “items falling under the definition of cultural property within the meaning of the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Export, Import and Return of Cultural Property’ are found, it is ordered to draw up appropriate lists and attach them to the certificate.”

The Ministry of Culture has established that “information about the work of the commission is considered to be information with limited access,” i.e., classified. Volodymyr Shornikov, director of the Department for the Protection and Preservation of Cultural Heritage, was appointed chairman of the commission. Minister Mykola Tochytskyi will directly supervise the work of the commission.

Earlier, we reported that a special commission of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine and the Kremenets-Pochayiv Historical and Architectural Reserve planned an inventory of shrines and religious items in the Holy Dormition Pochayiv Lavra, which also includes the incorrupt relics of St. Job of Pochayiv. In total, the commission included 58 items and objects of movable and immovable property in the inventory list, which, according to the Pochayiv Monastery of the UOC, do not have the appropriate documents. The monastery is convinced that in this way the state is trying to carry out a hybrid expropriation of the monastery’s shrines.