As reported, Bishop Gideon (Kharon) of Makariv of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, who previously headed the Tithe Monastery in Kyiv, which was destroyed by the Ukrainian authorities, said that the brethren of the Kyiv Cave Monastery refused to participate in the so-called “inventory” of holy relics stored in the Lavra caves.
Kyiv Cave Monastery of the UOC appeals to SBI against actions of the Ministry of Culture regarding relics of Kyiv Cave Saints
Representatives of the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra sent a statement to the Territorial Department of the State Bureau of Investigation located in Kyiv about criminal offenses in connection with the activities of the commission of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine in the Near and Far Caves. The monastery’s statement claims that Minister Mykola Tochytskyi, by issuing a decree to conduct an “examination” of the relics of the Kyiv Caves saints, deliberately violated a number of norms of Ukrainian legislation. This was reported by the Lavra’s lawyer, Archpriest Nikita Chekman.
“We believe that the actions of the Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine Mykola Tochytskyi and members of the Commission for verification of the presence and determination of the historical and scientific value of the remains of the Saints have signs of committing criminal offenses under Part 3 of Article 297 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and Part 2 of Article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Thus, the Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine by his order authorized the above-mentioned Commission to take actions that are inherently criminalized acts: desecration of the body (remains, ashes) of the deceased or the urn with the ashes of the deceased committed by a group of persons, as well as insulting the feelings of citizens in connection with their religious beliefs committed by an official,” – the statement reads.
The statement also notes that the commission of the Ministry of Culture is actually exhuming the relics of saints, which is not only a desecration of shrines but also an insult to the feelings of believers.
“Both the creation of such a Commission and its conduct of any research with the relics of saints causes great offense and indignation among believers. In addition, the Commission is actually performing actions that constitute the exhumation of bodies, which should be carried out under a special procedure and for which there are currently no legal grounds,” – the monastery added.
Read also
