The first religious facility – the diocese’s administration in Mariupol – was destroyed by the occupiers at the very onset of war.
This was stated by the head of the Synodal Department of Social Services at the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Serhiy (Horobtsov), who spoke with Vilne Radio.
“Twenty-two Orthodox temples of the Donetsk Diocese have been completely destroyed. These are our shrines that had been built for years. Unfortunately, they are gone,” said Metropolitan Serhiy.
The Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine also spoke of a family that had been trapped under the rubble of the church administration office destroyed in one of the enemy strikes.
“They were under a layer of rocks and boards. But they all survived. Moreover, when they managed to pull them out, they saw that all households to the left of that building were destroyed,” Metropolitan Serhiy recalls.
It should be recalled that a hieromonk with the UOC-MP was killed in one of the enemy strikes. A total of 116 places of worship have already been destroyed in Russian attacks.
