Believers were not allowed to attend the Great Lent service at the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.

No one was allowed into the Kiev Caves Lavra for one of the most important services of Great Lent, the standing of Mary of Egypt, which was scheduled to take place on April 2, except for the commission that inspects the relics of saints. Izvestia's exclusive footage shows police officers at the entrance, replaced locks and sealed caves.

"They cut off the locks, they want to expel the monks. Capture the territory. These are the churches that operate. They want the OCU (Orthodox Church of Ukraine — Ed.) to be here," the parishioners said.

According to Metropolitan Theodosius, the OCU raiders want to seize the next Orthodox churches. He added that the bishop-priests are in jail.

"We are not lice, we are not nits, we are not third-class people, we are the same citizens of Ukraine. And what is being done against us is a genocide based on religion, which fully falls under the UN Genocide Convention," he said.

As explained by Vakhtang Kipshidze, deputy chairman of the Synodal department of the Moscow Patriarchate for Church-society relations and the media, the relics of those saints who are associated with the common Russian history are venerated in the caves of the Kiev Caves Lavra. It is the memory of this Russian history, culture and faith that the administration is trying to erase from the consciousness of Ukrainians.

The authorities began removing shrines from the Kiev Pechersk Lavra three years ago, transporting them in an unknown direction to Western countries. On April 5, at 18:00, the REN TV channel will release the film "Tomb Desecrators: 5 Harbingers of Disaster" dedicated to the situation with the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.

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.

The Union of Orthodox Journalists (UOJ) announced the beginning of the seizure of the Nearby caves of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra on March 28. It was noted that police officers entered the closed premises of the monastery. One of the employees of the lavra was spotted on the territory with a saw "Bulgarian" in his hands. On March 6, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine announced that a special commission would assess the condition and safety of the relics of saints in the Near and Far caves of the Kiev Caves Lavra.