(OSV News): Russian forces destroyed another Ukrainian Greek Catholic church on August 11. A Russian rocket levelled the Church of the Holy Martyr Cyprian and the Martyr Justina in Antonivka, in Ukraine’s Kherson region.
News of the strike was reported by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church [UGCC] on its information website that same day. It did not specify if there had been casualties.
Images shared by the UGCC showed the severely damaged remains of the church. Windows and doors had been completely blown out, with structural framing warped and twisted. It noted that the church had previously been struck on August 9 by a Russian drone. Parishioners and area residents managed to extinguish the resulting flames.
The parish, formed in 2005, originally worshipped in a residence, moving in 2012 to a private chapel in the rectory of Father Igor Makar. The now-ruined church was built shortly thereafter and was consecrated in May 2014 by Bishop Mykhaylo Bubniy.
Meanwhile in Myrnohrad, a city in the Donetsk region, Father Ivan Vasylenko and a volunteer worked in August 11 to save sacred objects and art at the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, as Russian forces shelled the area.
A Russian rocket levelled the Church of the Holy Martyr Cyprian and the Martyr Justina in Antonivka, in Ukraine’s Kherson region
Father Vasylenko posted several videos and photos of the effort on his Facebook page, noting that “parishioners [have] all left the city.”
“We consecrated, prayed. … Today, people hugged, cried and already left,” said the priest, who urged residents seeking shelter to contact the Jesuit Refugee Service.
In a video included in one August 12 post, Father Vasylensko showed the interior of the church and the items set to be rescued. With Russian forces advancing to nearby Hrodivka, “those church things consecrated for the glory of God must be taken out of the city of Myrnohrad,” he said. “This temple was built for the glory of God and the salvation of human souls in Myrnohrad.”
Father Vasylenko explained that icons, banners, the parish library and the iconostasis—a screen of icons used in Byzantine Christian tradition to separate the sanctuary from the nave—are all being extricated with the help of a layperson experienced in construction.
Since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has destroyed at least 660 religious sites representing several faith confessions. Clergy and faithful of various denominations have been expelled, detained, tortured and, in some cases, killed.
In late June, Ukrainian Catholic priests Father Ivan Levitsky and Father Bohdan Geleta were released after a year and a half of Russian captivity, during which they were reported to be regularly tortured [Sunday Examiner, July 7].
“Jesus, have mercy on us,” Father Vasylensko said in his Facebook video. “Take care, [my] people. … Praise God for everything.”
