Unidentified masked men set fire to Ss Cyril and Methodius Church in Pavlograd (PHOTO)
"Police and firefighters arrived very quickly, – says the rector, Archpriest Andrei Demidas. – They found that 4 firebombs had been thrown into the church. One of them, which was targeted at the altar, thank God, did not work – the fuse fell out of it. But the other three caught fire, and the church suffered serious damage. Today I have to go to the police and write a report about what happened. "
The fire destroyed the choir with books, damaged walls and church utensils.
According to the priest, he had neither received any threats before nor encountered any hostility.
The Saints Cyril and Methodius Church was built 10 years ago on donations of parishioners. Believers are intending to restore it by join efforts. In spite of the fire, service in the church will continue.
The rector and parishioners of the church ask prayers of the faithful.
The UOJ is following the developments.
Read also
DESS: The number of communities joining OCU in 2024 is half of last year’s
Over a year, 232 communities of the UOC changed their jurisdiction.
Scale of internal damage to UOC cathedral in Zaporizhzhia shown online
The video allows viewers to assess the damage endured by the main Orthodox church of the UOC in Zaporizhzhia.
Ex-MP UOC protodeacon Novinsky declared suspicion of high treason
The former MP is accused of "ensuring that a significant part of Ukrainian society, who are believers of the UOC, remain under the direct influence of the leader of the ROC".
St Andrew’s icon survives under the rubble of UOC cathedral in Zaporizhzhia
The icon was painted by nuns of the St Nicholas Monastery in Patras (Greece) and consecrated on the relics of St Andrew the Apostle.
RF missile strike destroys St Andrew's Cathedral of UOC in Zaporizhzhia
The fragments damaged the roof of the building, dome, ceilings, cut windows and disfigured classrooms.
Media shows conditions in which persecuted communities of Volyn have to pray
After their churches were seized, UOC faithful are compelled to pray in poorly equipped facilities.