Mass media prove Nishchuk ordered to take stock of icons at the Lavra
Journalists published the documents proving the existence of an order from the Ministry of Culture to arrange an audit of church property.
In September 2018, Minister of Culture of Ukraine Yevgeny Nishchuk personally ordered to do stocktaking in the monasteries and temples of the UOC within one day. This can be seen from the documents published by the Ukrainian News agency.
The decision of Nishchuk was a response to the appeal of the MP from the Radical Party, former leader of the UNA-UNSO Yuri Shukhevich. On September 4, 2018, Shukhevich called on the authorities to establish control over the church property of the Kiev-Pechersk and Pochaev Lavras, churches and monasteries of the UOC.
The Ministry of Culture began to create stocktaking commissions for the inventory of church property of the UOC. On September 18, the fax number 18/18 was sent to all reserves belonging to the field of management of the Ministry. The document was signed by the deputy head of the Department for Cultural Heritage Protection, head of the Department for Permits and Conciliation Documentation in the field of cultural heritage protection B. Mots.
“In view of the above, we ask you to take measures within the framework of the current legislation, aimed at recording and registering available historical and cultural valuable assets in religious Christian buildings, which are now used by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and inform on the findings by 5 pm on 18 September, 2018 at [email protected]) of the Department for Cultural Heritage Protection in a scanned form with the signature of the head and in a Word format,” demanded the document.
On September 26, the Ministry of Culture stated they had nothing to do with the creation of stocktaking commissions.
