Nazis attacked a monastery iconic for Orthodox pilgrims
From threats to crime. Tonight, unknown persons threw bottles of Molotov cocktails onto the territory of the Holy Dormition Odessa Monastery. As a result, the fire destroyed the monastery buildings with an area of 1500 square meters. m.
Law enforcement officials announced a “deliberate arson” committed during a religious service.
According to the press service of the Odessa diocese, first, at about 00.40, “an unknown person threw Molotov cocktails under the monastery’s Toyota Hiace and VAZ-2107 cars.” However, the fire was extinguished by the temple novices on their own with the help of fire extinguishers.
But at the same time a fire started in the utility part. “The inhabitants (novices - ed.) of the monastery, having noticed another fire, promptly called the fire department and seven minutes later the first rescue crews arrived and began to put out the fire. An operational investigation team of the National Police and the State Emergency Service also arrived at the scene of the incident.”
The fire was localized only by four in the morning. There were no casualties, but during the extinguishing process, while helping firefighters, a 46-year-old novice of the Assumption Monastery, Archimandrite Vladimir (Yakimenko), was injured and was hospitalized with a broken leg.
“It was a deliberate arson,” Oleg Bekh, head of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Odessa region, told reporters. “We found three fires: two cars and an outbuilding that used to be a barn.”
Actually, the construction of the barn had just been completed and, by a lucky coincidence, they did not have time to bring animals there. And since flammable firewood, hay, varnish and paint remained at the site of the repair work, this contributed to the spread of the fire. That is, the arsonist knew what he was doing.
“Information on this fact was included in the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations under Part 2 of Article 194 (deliberate destruction or damage to property) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine,” said Vyacheslav Barba, head of the Odessa police department of the Kiev district. “The investigation is considering several versions of what happened, one of which is arson.”
The Odessa diocese has already issued an official appeal to law enforcement agencies: “Over the past two weeks, fires have been occurring in monasteries and churches of the UOC.
April 12, 2020 - Holy Dormition Monastery. Lipki, Goshchansky district, Rivne region.
April 15, 2020 - Church of the Holy Martyr Paraskeva village. Lukavtsi, Vyzhnytsia district, Chernivtsi region.
April 21, 2020 - Gamalievsky Convent of the Hieromartyr Charalampius, Shostkinsky district, Sumy region.
April 24, 2020 - fire in the Holy Dormition Odessa Monastery.
We earnestly ask the law enforcement agencies of Ukraine to pay attention to these facts!”
Founded in 1824, the Holy Dormition Odessa Monastery is not only a famous place of pilgrimage for Orthodox Christians from all over the world, but also an architectural and historical heritage.
Let us also recall that threats against the Ukrainian churches of the Moscow Patriarchate (MP) from radical nationalist organizations escalated during the pre-election Tomos tour of Petro Poroshenko, when representatives of the parishes refused to come under the jurisdiction of Ukrainian autocephaly. At that time, pogroms, arson and other acts of vandalism in MP churches were commonplace. Now the radicals’ hobby is supposedly violating quarantine. And many identify the fire that occurred with this fact.
As for the fires, Odessa residents continue to link the series of fiery disasters with the never-investigated tragedy of May 2. After which the fire claimed human lives in fires in the Victoria children's camp, in a psychiatric hospital, the Tokyo Star Hotel, an economic college... Unfortunately, this series can be supplemented. While the monstrous events of the “Odessa Khatyn” remain uninvestigated, those responsible for the mass death of people are at large. Thus, the new Ze-team took into its own hands the blood drawn by the “predecessors” - both from a legal and from a universal human point of view.
English version :: Read in English Nazis attacked a monastery that is significant for Orthodox pilgrims