Enemy shells Kherson's oldest church: cells burned to the ground

Russian troops hit the territory of the Greek Sophia Church in Kherson. As a result of the hit, the wooden cells caught fire and burned to the ground.

Igor Tsurkan, executive director of the Kherson League of Social Workers, reported on the consequences of the shelling by posting a photo at the scene.

The photos show broken windows, burnt walls, and the destroyed roof of the building located on the church grounds.

Photo: Ihor Tsurkan, executive director of the Kherson League of Social Workers/Facebook.

According to the Oles Honchar Kherson Regional Scientific Library, St. Sophia Church is one of the oldest religious buildings in Kherson.

It is reported that at the end of the 18th century, Greeks living in Crimea asked Catherine II to accept them into her citizenship. They were allowed to move to the present-day territory of Ukraine, where they founded the city of Mariupol.

Photo: Ihor Tsurkan, executive director of the Kherson League of Social Workers/Facebook.

Some Greeks who settled in Kherson took an active part in the construction and improvement of the city. The Merchant's Forstadt, the central district of Kherson, was also called the Greek district, and Greek merchants lived there. In 1780, the Greek Sophia Church, an architectural monument of the eighteenth century, was built and consecrated.

Originally a wooden church, it was later replaced by a stone building. The historic ebony iconostasis, created by Greek craftsmen, has survived to this day, but is now under threat.

Earlier, we wrote about how three volunteers were injured as a result of a Russian mine explosion on the evening of July 18. The car carrying the men, aged 30, 32 and 57, hit an explosive device.

Prior to that, Russian troops carried out a drone attack on a car carrying Chief Rabbi of Kherson and Kherson region Yosef Yitzhak Wolf and his family members.

Ірина Глухова