Prayer site of persecuted UOC community set on fire in Kyiv region

Fire in the repurposed premises of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos UOC parish in Novosilky. Photo: Dozor

Early in the morning on August 20, 2025, a fire broke out in the adapted premises where the parish of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos of the UOC in Novosilky, Kyiv region, had been holding services. According to Dozor the Telegram channel, the faithful believe this may have been an act of arson.

“Given the systematic atmosphere of hatred and terror against Orthodox Christians, the UOC faithful suspect arson,” the report states.

According to information from the scene, OCU activists behaved very aggressively toward the Orthodox community and had already attempted to set the shrine on fire three times.

As the UOJ previously reported, in October 2024, a group of OCU raiders brutally seized a UOC church. They had first falsified documents and, under the leadership of the Uniates’ cleric Medynsky, stormed the sanctuary.

After the seizure, Epifaniy’s raiders threw out icons and liturgical books, mixing them with garbage. Later, unknown individuals again broke into the grounds of a private home where UOC parishioners had been gathering for prayer after their church was seized. The attackers smashed windows on the veranda and tore up carpets.

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