Ministry of Culture explains why it is inspecting Pochaiv Lavra

Commission of the Ministry of Culture in Pochaiv Lavra on June 5, 2024. Photo: mcip.gov.ua

On June 5, 2024, two days later than planned, a commission from the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy began its work at the Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra. According to the head of the group, Olha Rutkovska, for now, officials are interested in the condition of the preservation of buildings, icons, iconostases, "other items", as well as fire safety equipment. This was reported on the Ministry of Culture's website.

The Acting Minister of Culture, Rostyslav Karandeev, instructed the commission to inspect "the state of preservation of the immovable property of the reserve, which was transferred for gratuitous use to the UOC in December 2003" from June 3 to June 29.

However, it is evident that due to the visit to the monastery of the Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, Metropolitan Tikhon, representatives of the ministry began their work two days later.

"Such inspections and surveys should take place periodically and systematically. This is essentially monitoring the condition of our national monuments. Today, we are talking about one of the national shrines. For now, we are interested in the preservation of the buildings, as well as the compliance with fire safety regulations. In addition, we are also interested in the preservation of icons, iconostases, and other items that are an integral part of the monuments complex. All these items are described, and all of this is subject to inspection," said Olha Rutkovska, head of the department for coordinating the activities of cultural institutions of the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, who heads the commission.

According to her, work has just begun today, and this was the first preliminary visit. The commission will compile corresponding reports based on the results of the inspection.

As the UOJ reported, the Ministry of Culture's commission, accompanied by the police, began an inspection of the Pochaiv Lavra.

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