Ministry of Culture to check relics of Kyiv Lavra saints for authenticity

Holy relics in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Photo: lavra.ua

The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy plans to organize an expertise to verify the authenticity of the relics of the Pechersk saints. The general director of the National Reserve "Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra," Maxym Ostapenko, announced this in an interview with telegraf.com.ua.

"A few months ago, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy created a commission to check the presence of relics that were once given to the monastery," he said. "But there are suspicions from the public that some of the relics have been either substituted or stolen. To answer this question and put it to rest, the Ministry of Culture, along with specialists from various fields, will conduct an expertise to verify the authenticity of these relics. We want to ensure that there will be no accusations against us that we are keeping the wrong relics or that the relics have been stolen."

According to Ostapenko, "without such expertise, the public's request will remain, given people's distrust of the leader and other representatives of the UOC [Ukrainian Orthodox Church] who have been arrested for collaboration and other criminal matters."

"The state transferred these relics to the monastery at the time, and now it should fully regain control over them," the official believes.

He stated that "with the proper organization," the expertise can be conducted within six months.

"Modern methods allow for this. Of course, it's not easy. Monks who store and venerate these relics and have the right to handle the relics will need to be involved," Ostapenko said.

As previously reported by the UOJ, in March 2023, Oleksandr Tkachenko, who was leading the Ministry of Culture at the time, stated that there are "museum exhibits, including the relics of saints that were given to the monks for, so to speak, their use" at the Lavra and that there would be a review of how they have been preserved.

In June, Russian media, citing the head of Russian external intelligence, reported that Ukrainian authorities were exporting relics of the Pechersk saints from the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra to hand them over to museums in Italy, France, Germany, and the Vatican.

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