Lawyer of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra reports violation of canons in handling of relics

Lawyer of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Mykyta Chekman, commented on photos published online showing the opening of reliquaries with the relics of venerable fathers and their transfer from the Lavra caves to storage facilities. According to him, since these actions involve employees of the National Reserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra,” they can be considered violations of religious canons and desecration of sacred objects. Mykyta Chekman expects prompt official responses from the institutions and emphasized that in case of ignoring the requests, legal measures will be taken. He wrote about this on his Telegram channel.

“Lawyer requests have been submitted to the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, as well as to the National Reserve ‘Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra,’ to obtain information on the legal grounds for carrying out such actions with the relics of holy servants of God, and to clarify who exactly made the decisions regarding their opening, transfer, dressing, or other interventions,” the Lavra lawyer noted.

Earlier, it was reported that, at the request of the representatives of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, the Territorial Department of the State Bureau of Investigations in Kyiv has initiated pre-trial investigations in two criminal proceedings related to possible incitement of religious enmity, as provided for in Article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.