ROC church burns down in Bryansk region in drone strike
In the village of Podyvotye in Russia’s Bryansk region, St. Elijah's Church of the ROC and a nearby baptistry building were completely destroyed by fire following a drone strike.
In the night of October 30, 2026, in the village of Podyvotye in the Sevsk district, Bryansk region, the wooden St. Elijah's Church of the ROC burned down completely as a result of a drone attack, reports the website of the Moscow Patriarchate.
The drone strike set the roof on fire, after which the flames quickly engulfed the entire wooden structure. The brick building housing the baptistry and prosphora bakery, built in 2019, also burned down after the church. According to the parish rector, Priest Alexander Belikov, there are no longer any residents in the village itself, as everyone has left to stay with relatives because of the drone attacks.
The Elijah parish in Podyvotye has been known since 1643. In 1943, the historic church building burned down during the liberation of the village from the German-fascist invaders. In 1989, the Orthodox community resumed its activity – believers were given the building of the former village council, which was eventually converted into a church.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that the ROC's Smolensk Cathedral in Belgorod was damaged in a drone attack.
