On 1 July 2026 the Cabinet of Ministers adopted resolution No. 871, “On the creation of the Ukrainian National Pantheon”, which came into force on 15 July. The Pantheon is to be a memorial complex of national significance within the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve — on the ground where the Kyiv Holy Dormition Caves Lavra also stands.
The Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance is to draw up the Pantheon’s concept and to hold expert and public consultations. The Ministry of Culture is to settle the question of where the Pantheon will stand within the reserve — taking account of restrictions on the use of the land, of cultural heritage protection requirements and of Ukraine’s international obligations — and to run an architectural competition, among whose participants the resolution names representatives of religious associations.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the Institute of National Remembrance, is to verify persons buried abroad whose reburial in the Pantheon would be appropriate. The law “On the Ukrainian National Pantheon” was passed by the Verkhovna Rada on 1 July 2026 and signed by the President on 22 August. The state describes the Pantheon as a national place of memory honouring the most distinguished figures of the Ukrainian people; neither act describes it as a measure directed at the Church.
Sources: the text of resolution No. 871 on the Legislation of Ukraine portal; Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, 22 August 2026.
