The Internet showed the condition in which Chernihiv cathedrals were transferred to the Church

Archival photos of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Chernihiv. Photo: Facebook "Orthodox Chernihiv Region"

The Chernihiv Eparchy has published archival photographs of the Holy Trinity Cathedral, demonstrating the condition of the shrine when it was transferred to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the late 1980s. This is reported 

The publication on the photo archive page "Orthodox Chernihivshchyna" was a response to accusations by representatives of the "Ancient Chernihiv" reserve that damage to the frescoes occurred due to the actions of the religious organization. The archival footage records significant destruction of walls and paintings, traces of dampness and general neglect after decades of using the church for purposes other than intended.

The eparchy emphasizes that it was through the efforts of the Orthodox community over the following decades that restoration work, repairs and constant maintenance of the cathedral were carried out. A similar situation, according to the authors of the publication, existed with the Transfiguration Cathedral of Chernihiv.

"Despite the devastation at that time, the Church managed to restore all of this step by step with its own resources, preserve it and properly maintain it for more than 30 years," the statement says.

The religious community took upon itself the colossal financial burden of maintaining, major repairs and heating of unique architectural monuments, effectively relieving the state of this responsibility.

"Today it is painful and offensive to observe how current officials, instead of elementary gratitude for saving the heritage, endlessly and cynically accuse the Church of allegedly 'improper maintenance' of the shrines. One should be ashamed of such short memory and blatant distortion of history. Archival photos do not lie – see for yourselves," the eparchy adds.

As the Union of Orthodox Journalists reported, drama theater artists danced in front of holy relics in the Trinity Cathedral of Chernihiv.

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