Media: Zaborol villagers cut ancient wooden church of OCU with chainsaws

The Church of the Conception of John the Baptist (OCU) in the village of Zaborol. Photo: Mykola Bendiuk's Facebook

In the village of Zaborol, Rivne region, local residents destroyed a church from the 18th century by cutting it down with chainsaws. This was reported by the head of the art cluster of the Ostroh Academy, Mykola Bendiuk on his social media page on May 20, 2025.

The church in question is a wooden church of the Conception of John the Baptist, built in 1762. As reported by the UOJ, the church was taken from the UOC many years ago and has recently belonged to the OCU.

According to Bendiuk, after the structure was cut down, the area was leveled with tractors. “On the leveled surface, there are fragments of skulls and human bones,” he reported, adding that this is a true 'burial' of history and culture.

At the moment, there is no official information from law enforcement or the Ministry of Culture regarding the reaction to the incident. The church in Zaborol, although it did not have the status of a national monument, represented an example of traditional wooden sacred architecture of Volhynia from the 18th century.

As reported by the UOJ, a prayer service was held at the site of the Tithe Monastery of the UOC on the anniversary of its demolition.

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