As a result of war, 244 churches of UOC are damaged
St George's Church of the UOC in the village of Oleksandro-Shultyne, Donetsk region, after a missile strike. Photo: suspilne.media
During the period from 24 February 2022 to 24 September 2023, as a result of military operations in Ukraine, at least 500 religious structures were affected, with 244 of them belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Such data were collected within the framework of the project "Religion on Fire: Documenting Russia's War Crimes against Religious Communities in Ukraine", implemented by the public organization "Workshop of Academic Religious Studies" with the support of the State Ethnopolitics Service and the Congress of National Communities of Ukraine.
According to the project participants, 156 buildings of Protestant denominations also suffered damage to varying degrees, 39 damaged objects belonged to the OCU, 15 – to Jewish communities, 12 – to the UGCC and the RCC, 7 – to Muslims, and 8 to representatives of other religions. The report also highlights the number of affected religious educational institutions of various denominations, which totalled 6.
More than 100 religious sites are either completely destroyed or severely damaged and can no longer be used for their intended purpose.
As reported, on September 4, 2023, as a result of a missile strike on the village of Oleksandro-Shultyne in the Donetsk region, a 200-year-old UOC church suffered severe damage.
Read also
Sand for construction of Yermak’s residence brought from cemetery, MP says
MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak said that sand illegally removed from a cemetery in Ukrainka was used in the construction of the elite Dynasty cooperative in Kozyn.
Italian court recognizes family with three parents as legal
In Bari, the appellate court ordered authorities to register an adoption according to which a child is listed as having two "fathers" and one mother.
Archaeologists discover biblical Bethsaida on shore of Sea of Galilee
Researchers have discovered a first-century residential house beneath the apse of a Byzantine church and a mosaic inscription mentioning the Apostle Peter.
Israeli soldiers receive jail terms for mocking statue of the Virgin Mary
Those involved in the act of sacrilege in the village of Debel will spend several weeks behind bars for desecrating a statue of the Mother of God.
Serbian Church officially receives back land of 15th-century monastery
An agreement was signed in Belgrade transferring the territory of the ancient Vojlovica Monastery to the Banat Eparchy.
Pat Daniel comments on conflict between Phanar bishop and community in Turkey
The Bulgarian Primate believes that the hierarch of the Constantinople Patriarchate should not have forced the Bulgarian community in Edirne to serve in Greek.