Holy Dormition Monastery set on fire in Odessa (UPDATED)
A fire at the Holy Dormition Monastery. Photo: a video screenshot on the Facebook page of the Odessa Eparchy
On the night of April 24, 2020, on the eve of the feast day, a fire broke out at the Holy Dormition Monastery of the UOC in Odessa, as reported on the Facebook page of the Odessa Eparchy.
The parishioners who stood outside the gate before the fire started heard an explosion. Several witnesses saw a suspicious man who ran down the lane from the monastery with a bag or a packet.
The fire broke out in several places at once. According to one version, at first several cars that were located near the monastic buildings caught fire. Luckily, they were put out. According to eyewitnesses, if the cars exploded, many people would die. Several different witnesses testify to the fact that it was a deliberate arson.
The woodshed caught fire. The fire was approaching the place where the fuel tanks are stored.
The first fire brigades quickly arrived at the monastery.
The barn completely burned down; firefighters failed to extinguish the woodshed.
2:33 - No victims; representatives of the eparchy show one of the places of arson with fragments of Molotov cocktails; the investigative-operational group has not yet arrived.
2:37 - According to the witness, the fire covers more than 1,500 square meters.
2:46 - There is information about one victim; it turned out to be the 46-year-old monk of the monastery, Archimandrite Vladimir (Yakimenko), who helped to put out the fire and broke his leg; he was hospitalized, with no signs of carbon monoxide poisoning.
3:02 - The investigative-operational group of the National Police of Ukraine arrives, a survey of witnesses and an examination of the scene begins.
3:30 – A canine unit arrives at the scene.
Around 4:00 – The fire is localized.
On April 15, 2020, an old wooden St. Paraskeva of Serbia Church caught fire in the Chernivtsi-Bukovina Eparchy, the main version of the fire is arson.
On April 21, 2020, a fire broke out on the territory of the Gamalievka Convent of the Holy Martyr Charalampus (UOC) in the Shostka district, the Sumy region.
Read also
UOC's foreign mission reports manipulations around its activities
The Western European Vicariate emphasized that UOC parishes abroad operate independently and were created for the spiritual care of the Ukrainian diaspora.
Clergy meeting of Western European Vicariate of UOC held in Italy
The annual gathering of clergy of the Vicariate took place in the city of Bari under the chairmanship of Bishop Veniamin.
Photo of destroyed MinCulture facility published online
The public organization reported the destruction of a church in Velykyi Khodachkiv; authorities remain inactive.
MP agrees with OCU on destruction of royal family fresco in Volodymyr cathedral
Despite the fact that the Dormition Cathedral in Volodymyr was built with funds provided by Nicholas II, the OCU will destroy the fresco depicting the Royal Passion-Bearers.
UGCC calls on authorities to move brothels out of Lviv
A UGCC cleric says the war has “saved Lviv from the Babylon that had already begun to take shape in the city.”
Attackers on Catholic church in Turkey sentenced to life imprisonment
An Istanbul court has sentenced three principal defendants in the case of the attack on the Catholic Church of St Mary to life imprisonment.