The historic wooden church in Svjatohirsk in Ukraine is now a pile of ashes. The rest of the monastic community around is partly in ruins. The small community was a refuge for many in the area by the Donetsk River, near the city of Slovyansk. The monastery houses about 300 refugees, including 60 children, according to the Orthodox Church in Donetsk. The fragile peace around society was broken by two artillery attacks in the period from 30 May to 1 June. A monk, a nun and a dean lost their lives. The Orthodox monastic community Svjatohirsk Lavra on the Donetsk River has ended up in the middle of the front, where fierce fighting has been going on lately. Wants Russia to be thrown out of UNESCO Russia and Ukraine blame each other for the attacks. President Zelensky reported the fire in the wooden church on June 4. He claims Russian attacks are the cause, and now calls for Russia to be expelled from the World Heritage Organization Unesco. At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Defense claims that the attacks were carried out by Ukrainian forces. It writes the Russian news agency Ria. The Sviathirsk monastery community in Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine, is in the middle of the front line with Russia, which is concentrating its offensive against the city of Sevierodonetsk. In the middle of the front line Svjatohirsk is located right on the river Siverskyj Donetsk. It is thus in the middle of the front line where there have been fierce battles between Russian and Ukrainian forces recently. Russian forces claimed control of Sviatohirsk on June 7. According to the Institute of Study of War’s report on June 8, however, it is unclear whether they control the entire area. Graphics: “INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR AND AEI’S CRITICAL THREATS PROJECT / news Graphics:“ INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR AND AEI’S CRITICAL THREATS PROJECT / news Special significance for the Orthodox Church The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patri together with President Vladimir Putin during an Easter service. Photo: Oleg Varov / AP The wooden church that burned down was the largest wooden church in the country. The church was built in 1912, but has been destroyed and rebuilt several times. The monastic community in Svjatohirsk was awarded the honorary title “lavra” in 2004. The honorary title is especially important for monastic communities within the Orthodox Church. According to Wikipedia, it houses over 100 monks. Two weeks ago, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church announced that it would cut all ties to the Russian part of the church. The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has been criticized for supporting Putin’s war in Ukraine. Has verified damage to 139 cultural monuments Many other cultural monuments have also been affected in the Ukraine war. A burnt-out truck stands in front of a damaged church in Lukashivka, outside Chernihiv in northern Ukraine, on April 22 this year. Photo: Petros Giannakouris / AP In March and May, several attacks on religious buildings in Svjatohirsk were reported. One of them was confirmed by Unesco. In total, Unesco has verified damage to at least 139 cultural monuments in Ukraine since 24 February. Among them are 62 religious buildings.
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Ukrainian monastery smashed and burned after attack – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
