A special commission of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine has been deployed on November 29 to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv to carry out an audit of holy items that were handed over to the lavra 30 years ago, the press service of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate said.

"The locum tenens of the abode, Metropolitan of Vyshhorod and Chernobyl, Pavlo, has discussed with members of the commission the procedure of inspection of the availability of the items. On the first day of the Nativity Fast, the members of the commission started an inspection of the availability of hallows in the Closer and Farther Caves of the Lavra," a statement on the official website of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate says.

The statement said the commission's work is being supervised by monks and local personnel.

This is the first inspection to be carried out at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in 30 years.

The special commission made up of employees of the Ministry of Culture and the National Kyiv-Pechersk Historic and Cultural Reserve was set up by the Ministry of Culture. The commission's job is to make an audit of the existing ecclesiastical antiquities and holy items that have been handed over to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra since 1998 when the monastery there resumed operation.