"They were simply not allowed to open the door": Religious scholar explains seizure of Near and Far Caves of Kyiv Cave Monastery by Ministry of Culture employees

Liudmyla Filipovych, a lobbyist for the OCU in the media, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor of the Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, explained the reason for the seizure of the Near and Far Caves of the Holy Dormition Kyiv Cave Monastery by representatives of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. According to Filipovych, the need for the audit arose because of “rumors” that shrines were disappearing from the monastery, and the representatives of the Ministry of Culture had to break the locks because the UOC monks allegedly did not open the doors to the caves. She said this in an interview with Radio Kultura.

Filipovich notes that the commission was created in mid-March 2025, when it became necessary to check the valuables stored in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, in particular in the Near and Far Caves. She stated that around that time, rumors allegedly began to spread that “some of the relics were being illegally taken somewhere, that some of the saints were missing a hand, etc.” So it was decided to take an inventory and determine what was really missing.

Filipovych notes that the specialists had no problems with access to the Near Caves, but the Far Caves are still inhabited by UOC monks who did not leave during 2023-2024. And they simply did not open the door for the commission’s employees. Therefore, the Ministry of Culture decided to “simply cut the locks and install new ones, despite the monks’ reluctance to allow specialists in.”