Holy relics defiled: Lavra turns to state investigators amid scandal

Far Caves of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Photo: Lavra’s official website

April 8, 2025 – Representatives of the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra have submitted a formal complaint to the Territorial Department of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) regarding alleged criminal offenses committed during a state commission’s "inspection" of relics in the Lavra's Near and Far Caves.

According to lawyer Nikita Chekman, who shared the news via his Telegram channel, the actions of Ukraine’s Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications, Mykola Tochynskyi, along with members of the commission he appointed, may constitute criminal violations under two articles of the Ukrainian Criminal Code.

The Lavra’s legal team alleges that Minister Tochynskyi’s Order No. 214, issued on March 5, 2025, effectively authorized actions that fall under the legal definition of “desecration of a human body committed by a group of persons” (Part 3, Article 297), and “offending citizens’ religious feelings committed by an official” (Part 2, Article 161).

The monastery expressed particular outrage over the composition of the commission, which included not only human biology experts but also specialists in veterinary medicine and the biomorphology of vertebrate animals. According to Lavra representatives, the very formation of such a commission and its examination of holy relics is deeply offensive to Orthodox believers.

The lawyer further emphasized that the commission’s actions effectively amount to the exhumation of human remains, a process that requires specific legal procedures and justification – which, in this case, are absent.

The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is currently awaiting the launch of a pre-trial investigation.

Earlier, the UOJ analyzed what it called sacrilegious actions by authorities at the Lavra.

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