The nation’s largest Buddhist sect has obtained permission from the South Korean government to visit North Korea for Buddhist rites.

Led by Venerable Jaseung, some 37 members of the Jogye Order plan to hold a ritual in commemoration of the one-thousand year anniversary of the making of the Tripitaka Koreana, the complete collection of Buddhist scriptures on wood. The group plans to visit the North from Saturday through next Wednesday.

A Unification Ministry official said that the ministry has approved of the group’s application to hold rites with its North Korean counterparts at Bohyeon Temple in North Pyeongan Province.

This is the first time South Korea has granted permission for anyone to visit North Korea for a religious ceremony since it banned all contact with the North following the sinking of the Cheonan naval vessel last year.