On Saturday, March 12, several buildings of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s Holy Dormition-Svyatogorsk Lavra were damaged during shelling in Svyatogorsk. The monastery is one of several churches and monasteries that have been damaged. The Lavra has been home to hundreds of refugees fleeing war in the Donetsk and Lugansk Provinces since 2014, and is now home to refugees from all over Ukraine, mostly Kharkov and Izium. During the shelling on Saturday, the Lavra hotel where 520 refugees, including 200 children, live, was damaged.

In a video address, Lavra abbot His Eminence Metropolitan Arseny noted that a bomb fell near the bridge connecting the city and the monastery. Most of the windows of the Holy Dormition Cathedral were also blown out, and several refugees were damaged by glass shards, the Ukrainian Church reports. Several other buildings also suffered damage, according to the Lavra’s report. The video shows the extent of the damage.

Everyone who lives in the monastery spent the night in the basement after the impact, though the Sunday of Orthodoxy services were held as normal the next morning, thanks to the monastic brotherhood’s tireless labors overnight, boarding up broken windows and taking care of the refugees.

Met. Arseny himself and those accompanying him were protected from the blast when they stayed longer than expected in the church to venerate the relics. The monastery website provides information on a number of ways to donate to the restoration fund. (Quelle: www.orthochristian.com, 14. März 2022)