Blasphemy of Power in the Lavra: Why Anatomists and Veterinarians Are Studying the Relics of Saints
The authorities have seized the caves of the Lavra. Veterinarians, anatomists, and biologists will “study” the relics of the Pechersk Saints.
Could the government have spat in the face of believers any more blatantly?
March 28, 2025—Early in the morning, while the city was still asleep, several vehicles belonging to the Ministry of Culture arrived at the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Accompanied by law enforcement officers—some carrying power saws and grinders—entered the monastery grounds.
They cut and replaced the locks on the doors leading to the Near Caves and entered inside. Soon after, the same fate befell the Far Caves. And just like that, the state effectively seized one of the most revered shrines of the Orthodox world—the relics of the Venerable Fathers of the Kiev Caves.
Since 2023, when the state announced the “return” of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra to its control, officials took over several buildings where the monastic brotherhood lived but left the caves untouched. Since August 10, 2023, believers were no longer allowed onto the monastery grounds, but access to the relics of the Saints of the Caves was still possible through paid tours.
The keys to the caves remained with the monks, who continued to care for the relics, prayerfully re-dressing them and maintaining order.
But now, everything has changed.
The operation to seize the caves was led by Alexander Ovchar, deputy director of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Reserve and a member of the Ministry of Culture’s commission. A new phase began—the verification of the “presence of saints' remains in the tombs of the Near and Far Caves” and the determination of their “historical and scientific value.”
This is the language used in an order which established the commission, issued by Mykola Tochitsky, Ukraine's Minister of Culture, on March 5, 2025.
According to the document, details of the work and its findings will be classified. However, the purpose of the commission's activities becomes clear when examining the list of its members—25 individuals, including specialists whose presence raises serious concerns.
- E. Appelkhans – Head of the Department of Anatomy at Odesa National Medical University, President of the Scientific Society of Anatomists, Histologists, Embryologists, and Topographic Anatomists of Ukraine.
- N. Bolela – Researcher in the Department of Biological Research at the National Scientific and Research Restoration Center.
- Y. Guminsky – Professor of Human Anatomy at Vinnytsia National University, member of the Pirogov Commission on the re-embalming of Pirogov's body.
- O. Melnyk – Head of the Department of Vertebrate Biomorphology, Doctor of Veterinary Sciences, member of the Pirogov Commission.
- G. Tkach – Doctor of Medical Sciences, member of the Pirogov Commission.
In other words, those who will “work” with the relics include medical doctors, anatomists, embalming specialists, and even veterinarians. It is unlikely that their role is simply to confirm the presence of relics in the tombs. Their areas of expertise suggest that they were invited to conduct medical and scientific experiments on the relics—taking tissue samples and performing various manipulations.
But how ethical is this in relation to the Church and the feelings of believers? Any Christian, regardless of denomination, would undoubtedly call this act by one word—blasphemy.
Imagine This Happening Elsewhere
Let’s consider some hypothetical scenarios and predict the reaction of Ukrainian and international society, shall we?
- The Ministry of Culture nationalizes the grave of Rabbi Nachman, the founder of Bratslav Hasidism, and forms a commission to study his remains. In Uman, police units arrive at the grave, exhume the body, and allow anatomists, biologists, and veterinarians to examine it.
- The Italian government, with the Vatican’s approval, orders a commission to study the relics of the Apostles Peter and Andrew, as well as Saint John Chrysostom and various Popes, including Gregory the Great, Leo the Great, and John Paul II. Police arrive at St. Peter’s Basilica, dismantle the altar and columns, and the commission takes “samples” for study.
- In Saudi Arabia, the authorities decide to study the remains of the Prophet Muhammad. Police units with bulldozers and excavators arrive at the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina, dismantle the Prophet's tomb, and biologists, anatomists, and veterinarians extract his remains for scientific research.
I apologize, sincerely, to those who find these scenarios offensive. But the fact is, the exact same thing is happening today at the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra—a cynical and demonstrative act of blasphemy. Every nation has its sacred sites, which are deeply revered. That is why democratic countries have strict laws protecting religious freedom and faith.
In secular countries, where the Church is officially separated from the state, authorities have no right to desecrate its shrines. The relics of the Saints of the Kiev Caves are venerated as a testament to their spiritual feat—so holy that God has preserved their bodies from decay. Nowhere else in the world exists such a collection of incorruptible saints. Their relics are of immense value—but only to Christians, not to the state.
For the authorities, the relics of St. Anthony of the Kiev Caves are no different from the bones of any other medieval person. But why isn’t the government sending police units to cemeteries to dig up graves? What is the purpose of these medical experiments on the relics of saints who have been venerated for centuries by people from all over the world?
Soviet Commissions and the Modern Ministry of Culture—Is There a Difference?
After the Bolsheviks came to power in 1917, the monastic community continued to exist as a labor collective. But in 1926, the Soviet government declared the Lavra a state historical and cultural reserve. What happened next?
Professor Ivan Nikodimov, who served as the Lavra’s legal advisor in the 1920s–40s, described these events:
"First, there was a propaganda campaign to prepare the public for the opening of the relics. The Soviet press published articles calling for their destruction. Then the relics were seized and placed under the control of an anti-religious museum. A 'relics factory' was set up in the Lavra, presented to tourists as proof of monastic deception. However, the people knew this was not true, that such a “factory” was only an unscrupulous invention of anti-religious propaganda, but the “factory” continued to exist and was shown to sightseers... More than once, after the hot anti-religious propaganda of the guides, by which they tried to convince the people that the main function of the monks was to siphon off more money from the population, someone asked the question: “Did the monks charge a compulsory fee for entrance to the caves, as you do?”. The embarrassed guide had to answer in the negative.
Why such "research" was necessary for Soviet Commissars is self-evident—they wanted to prove that God does not exist and that relics were merely a means of deceiving a gullible population.
By contrast, the Ministry of Culture does not openly support atheism. Instead, the authorities heavily promote the so-called Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) and exert enormous effort to ensure these schismatics gains a foothold in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.
How to Hold a "Monasticism Forum" and Simultaneously "Study" the Relics
On the eve of the seizure of the caves, the Reserve Administration, along with several representatives of the OCU, even held a "Forum on Monasticism" aimed at "rethinking the role of monasticism in the modern world, seeking new forms of service," and "discussing the future of monastic life in Ukraine." The initiators of the event were the head of the reserve, Maksym Ostapenko, and an employee of the same reserve, who is also the "abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra of the OCU," Abraham Lotysh.
At the same time, the Ministry of Culture has been conducting court proceedings for months to evict two-hundred monks of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) who have been praying at the Lavra since its revival in 1988.
It is utterly incomprehensible how one can expel monks from their monastery while seriously discussing the "future of monastic life in Ukraine."
Even more incomprehensible is the acquiescence of the OCU regarding the sacrilege committed by the Ministry of Culture against the relics of the Venerable Fathers of the Kiev Caves. Lotysh, as a reserve employee, must have known about these plans.
How a clergyman can remain indifferent to the fact that anatomists and veterinarians will "study" the incorrupt bodies of saints, treating them as biological specimens, is difficult to comprehend. However, it should not come as a surprise, knowing that Lotysh and his colleagues supported the hosting of culinary shows, dance troupe performances, and rock concerts in the Lavra.
The State Service for Ethnopolitics and the Bolsheviks: An Unseen Connection
There is another layer to this disgraceful story, which at first glance may not be obvious.
Among the members of the Ministry of Culture's commission for studying the "historical and scientific value of the remains of saints" is a close associate of Viktor Yelensky, the head of the Department of Religious Affairs at the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (SSEFC), Vyacheslav Horshkov. This means that the commission is overseen by a government structure responsible for religious affairs.
And here it is worth recalling the personality of its leader. Today, Viktor Yelensky is a model Ukrainian patriot who condemns the crimes of the Soviet past and supports democratic values in matters of religious freedom.
But just 35 years ago, he held a completely different position and was one of the most active mouthpieces of Leninist atheistic propaganda.
In some of his works ("Jewish Clericalism and Zionism"), Yelensky denounced Jews as a "Jewish bourgeois threat" to the USSR.
In others, he assured that Protestants lived quite freely under Soviet rule. However, perhaps one of his most notable works is "The Implementation of the Decree 'On the Separation of Church from State and School from Church' in the Early Years of Socialist Construction."
In it, Yelensky praised Lenin's decisions to crush and loot the Church, claiming that believers themselves wanted the destruction of churches:
"Party organizations and Soviets, in practical implementation of Lenin's decree 'On the Separation of Church from State,' relied on the anticlerical movement of the working people, who mostly received it favorably. Even the clergy in 1921 were forced to acknowledge that the Ukrainian Orthodox population welcomed the idea of church-state separation with sympathy."
Meanwhile, the fact that clergy and parishioners resisted the Bolshevik looting and church closures, Yelensky described as working against the people and the Soviet state:
"The clergy especially fiercely resisted the confiscation of their lands and property. The struggle against the seizure of church valuables most vividly exposed the anti-people nature of the Russian Orthodox hierarchy... The Church leaders developed a large-scale program to counteract Lenin's decree, which fully aligned with the plans of the counter-revolution aimed at destroying Soviet power."
So, everything is just as it is now. When the state seizes and loots the Church, it is deemed good. If the clergy and believers resist, they are accused of trying to "destroy the government." The only difference is the name of the state fighting against the Church. Today, it is not the USSR but Ukraine.
Currently, Yelensky publicly supports the OCU. His main argument is that Dumenko's structure is "pro-government." But during the Leninist period, he used the same argument to praise the Living Church, or Renovationists:
"The Renovationists tried to save the Church by revising its political and social orientation and establishing normal relations with Soviet power."
Does this mean that the current head of SSEFC is a believer or at least sympathetic to the Orthodox faith? Not at all.
In one of his works, Yelensky proclaims his life credo:
"We, atheists, believe that a scientific-materialist worldview liberates the essential forces of a person, allows them to perceive the world adequately, and correctly navigate within it."
Conclusions
The seizure of the Near and Far Caves of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, followed by the "study of the historical and scientific value of the remains" of the Venerable Fathers of the Kiev Caves, is an outright blasphemy by the Ukrainian authorities, not only against UOC believers but against the entire Orthodox Church. The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is a shrine for the entire Orthodox world, and nowhere else exists such a vast collection of incorrupt relics of saints.
The actions of the Ukrainian authorities regarding the relics of the Venerable Fathers of the Kiev Caves are nearly indistinguishable from those of the Soviet atheistic authorities.
The forceful seizure of the caves, the offensive wording of decrees, and the methods of conducting the research all indicate that the Ministry of Culture and the State Service for Ethnopolitics are, simply put, the direct successors of the Soviet commissars. We see absolutely no difference.
The silent consent of the OCU to the authorities' actions is yet another testament to the unchurchly nature of this structure. Orthodox Christians cannot calmly witness the desecration of great saints. Orthodox Christians must understand that the Holy Spirit, which saints receive in life, becomes inherent not only in their souls but also in their bodies. And it does not part with them after death.
All democratic countries and international organizations that truly value religious freedom must wrestle with this situation. What is happening in Ukraine is not the victory of a "good" Church over a "bad" one—it is the triumph of atheism.
But most importantly, we await an assessment from the Local Orthodox Churches, first and foremost from the Ecumenical Patriarchate. It is no longer possible to pretend that nothing terrible is happening to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its sacred relics.
