OCU clerics taking part in commission's work on Lavra relics "examination"

The Ministry of Culture has already “examined” the relics of St Isaac. Photo: Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra's website

According to one of the OCU-affiliated sources, clerics of the OCU are participating in the Ministry’s commission tasked with the “examination” of the relics of the Caves saints.

It is reported that before the commission members open the reliquary containing a saint’s relics, a representative of the OCU “reads prayers”.

The OCU has claimed that the relics of St Isaac of the Caves have already been examined. However, no details have been provided about what exactly was done. The text also notes that, according to one commission member, comparing their work to the actions of the Bolsheviks is “propaganda and a crude appeal to the emotions of uneducated believers”.

The commission also expressed offence at Dr Melnyk, a Doctor of Veterinary Sciences, being referred to simply as a “veterinarian”, noting that he is, among other things, “a professor who participated in the re-embalming of the body of Pirogov”.

“That’s why he has a good understanding of how to handle such preserved incorrupt remains as relics,” one of the commission members remarked.

However, he did not explain what embalming has to do with the incorrupt relics of the Caves saints.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Lavra submitted a complaint to the State Bureau of Investigations over the desecration of the saints’ relics.

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