ICOMOS Considers Possibility to Extend Nomination of St. Sophia of Kyiv National Reserve

An expert of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) Todor Krestev visited Ukraine on October 17-22 to study thoroughly the question of the possibility of extending the nomination of the St. Sophia of Kyiv National Reserve and inscribing the Church of St. Cyril and the Church of St. Andrew on the list of the World Heritage List of UNESCO, the press service of the Kyiv Caves National Historic and Cultural Reserve reported.

On October 19, the expert visited the reserve and met with its general manager, Maryna Hromova.

The expert welcomed positive changes in the activity of the reserve made since his last visit in October 2010. In particular, he noticed the fruitful cooperation between the leadership of the reserve and the leadership of the Kyiv Cave Monastery and approved of the government’s initiative to subordinate all the objects of the cultural heritage to one state body, the Ministry of Culture.

“In the nearest future, I plan to study all the normative acts regarding the new system of government and protection of the objects of culture and architectural monuments in Ukraine. It is very important to systematize the maintenance of the cultural heritage and make sure it is carried out by one centralized controlling body.”

The expert of ICOMOS paid special attention to the question of cooperation between the reserves. The leadership of the Kyiv Cave Monastery currently actively establishes relations with its colleagues.

“Our reserve is always open to fruitful joint work with other museum institutions. For instance, on October 21, 2011, as part of the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the St. Sophia of Kyiv National Reserve, an exhibition 'Monuments of Sacral Art of the 15th-19th Centuries of the Stocks of the Kyiv Cave National Historic and Cultural Reserve' was opened. Many of the exhibits were exhibited for the first time,” said Maryna Hromova.

Todor Krestev also showed interest in organizing charitable fairs in the Kyiv Cave Monastery.