The caves of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra have been captured in Ukraine. What you need to know

Representatives of the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture and security forces on Friday, March 28, seized the caves of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. Earlier, the Kiev Pechersk Lavra Nature Reserve terminated its indefinite contract with the UOC and expelled the clergy and parishioners from the churches, leaving only the lower Lavra for them. What interested the Ukrainian security forces in the caves of the temple, what values are there, and what consequences will Kiev's next attack on Orthodox believers lead to — in the Izvestia article.

What happened

• In early March, an order was published on the website of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to establish a commission to examine the relics of the saints in the caves of the Kiev Caves Lavra. The Commission must establish the presence of the remains, as well as determine their historical and scientific value. The work will be carried out until May 30, and the results of the examination will be classified.

• On Friday, March 28, the police blocked access to the caves for the inhabitants of the Lavra. According to human rights activist Nikita Chekman, employees of the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture, accompanied by security forces, opened the doors with a grinder to get into the caves. The hacking and seizure of the shrines occurred on the eve of a court of appeal hearing on a lawsuit in which the Orthodox Church demanded that the temples of the Upper Lavra be returned to the control of the UOC. Later it became known that the meeting was postponed to April 28.

• Despite the fact that the indefinite lease agreement with the UOC was terminated in 2022 and part of the monastery complex was transferred to the administration of the Schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), the UOC monks still worship on the territory of the Lower Lavra. At the same time, the activities of the canonical UOC are now banned in the country, and a corresponding law was passed last August (we discussed it here in more detail and why the UOC was banned). Since August 2023, by a court decision on the claim of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra Reserve, visitors' access to this territory has been prohibited, but the church has appealed.

• Against the background of the difficult situation inside Ukraine, weakening support from the United States and failures at the front, the opening of the cave and the removal of the relics pursues a political goal — it is a demonstration of Kiev's power over the shrines of Russian Orthodoxy. Experts doubt the need to analyze the relics and remains, because such studies have been conducted in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra since the mid-1960s. For science, expertise will have no value, and believers will perceive the manipulation of relics as an outrage against shrines.

Western reaction

• The reaction in the West was restrained when the Verkhovna Rada introduced amendments to the law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations, which practically banned the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The report of the UN Human Rights Office, based on the work of the monitoring commission in Ukraine from February 1 to April 30, 2023, showed that "cases of violence against members and supporters of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have increased in the country." The Commission noted that the Ukrainian authorities conducted searches in churches, placed clergymen under house arrest, and the Ministry of Culture terminated an early lease agreement with the UOC for the state Kiev Pechersk Lavra. After the UN intervention, Kiev stopped the violent actions and forced eviction of the UOC from the Lavra.

• In 2023, Orthodox leaders in Serbia and Georgia opposed the persecution of the UOC and its followers in Ukraine. The persecution of the church by the Kiev regime was condemned by Pope Francis. The Western press also warned about the increased risk of repression against the UOC.

Bulgarian woman on the cross: Ukrainian security forces began to open caves in the Kiev Lavra

In the future, DNA tests of the holy relics are planned.

• In 2023, the Kharkiv human rights group defending human rights in Ukraine drew attention to state interference in the activities of a religious organization, harassment of clergy and parishioners of the UOC by the SBU and the police. A report by the Center for Eastern European and International Studies in 2024 showed that "once the largest Christian denomination in the country" was facing a reduction in membership and aggressive government pressure.

• After the invasion of the caves of the Lavra, Ivan Melnikov, Vice-president of the Russian division of the International Committee for the Protection of Human Rights, appealed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to adopt a resolution on the inadmissibility of the seizure of religious sites. Earlier, the UN intervention helped to avoid the forced eviction of monks from the territory of the Monastery.

• Although persecution of the traditional Orthodox Church has become the norm in Ukraine, Kiev tries not to draw attention to such cases so as not to annoy the West: the role of religion in the United States and Europe is important, and persecution of people on religious grounds can complicate Kiev's relations with its allies. But experts doubt that Kiev's next hostile move will provoke any reaction in the West. At the same time, discrimination by the UOC can have long-term consequences within Ukraine itself, fostering religious intolerance among citizens.

What is valuable in the Lavra

• Kievo-Pechersk Lavra is one of the oldest monasteries of Kievan Rus and the most important Orthodox shrine. Of particular value to historians are the caves of the Lavra and the remains of saints and historical figures stored there, since the main temple of the complex, the Assumption Cathedral— was looted and destroyed during the Great Patriotic War and rebuilt much later.

• The relics of saints revered by the Orthodox Church — Anthony of the Caves, St. Nestor the Chronicler, and the first Orthodox iconographer Alypius - rest in the Near and Far caves of the Lavra. The caves also contain the remains of Orthodox laity – Peter Stolypin was buried on the territory of the Lavra, and the remains of the epic hero Ilya Muromets may also be located here.

During the preparation of the material, Izvestia interviewed:

• political scientist Alexey Yaroshenko;
• Bogdan Bezpalko is a political scientist, member of the Council on Interethnic Relations under the President of Russia, Deputy director of the Center for Ukrainian and Belarusian Studies at Moscow State University.