Department for External Church Relations
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Statement of the Synodal Department for Church’s Relations with Society and Mass Media regarding the demolition of the Tithes Monastery
DECR Communication service, 16.05.2024.
The Russian Orthodox Synodal Department for Church’s Relations with Society and Mass Media has issued a statement regarding the demolition of the Tithes (Desyatynny) Monastery in Kiev, reports Patriarchia.ru.
On the night of May 17, 2024, the authorities of Kiev had illegally demolished the Tithes Monastery, which was erected on the site of the first stone church of Ancient Rus', built in the 10th century. The Desyatynny Monastery enjoyed special veneration among Kiev residents and Orthodox believers around the world, but this did not stop the Kiev authorities, who, like in the godless times, under the cover of night with the help of heavy machinery and armed individuals, destroyed the church building.
Today, the residents of Kiev come to pray at the place where the church, demolished by the God-fighters, once stood.
[By destroying the Tithes Church], the Kiev authorities had repeated what Batu Khan did [in the 13th century], and what was again committed several centuries later by the servants of [Soviet] state atheism [in 1935].
The faithful of the Russian Church, like many other Local Churches, are pained by yet another crime committed by the heirs of the God-fighters.
Believers worldwide will remember how the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its spiritual and material heritage are being destroyed without consequences, and the [Ukrainian Orthodox] believers themselves are marginalized and silenced, while the political forces supporting the Ukrainian authorities and the human rights community are choosing to remain silent.
The God-fighting deeds of the Ukrainian authorities will not be forgotten, and all those responsible for them will answer before the court of history and the judgement of God.
Patriarch
Department Chairman
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