Occupants in Crimea hand over historic church to Moscow church

The occupiers transferred the Church of the Seven Holy Martyrs of Chersonese in Sevastopol to the Russian Orthodox Church for free use. The church was built in the 1850s and is an important monument of the religious and cultural heritage of Crimea.

This was reported by Holos Kryma.

The occupation "Interregional Territorial Department of the Federal Agency for State Property Management in Crimea and Sevastopol" transferred the church in honor of the Seven Holy Martyrs of Chersonese to the Russian Orthodox Church for free use. It is located on the territory of the ancient settlement of Chersonesos Tavriya in Sevastopol, next to the Cathedral of St. Prince Volodymyr the Equal-to-the-Apostles.

The wooden church on this site was built in the 1850s in honor of the martyrs Capiton, Ephraim, Elpidius, Agathodorus, Ephraim, Basil, and Eugene, who were martyred for Christ in Chersonesos in the fourth century. The building actually became the first building of the architectural complex of the St. Volodymyr's Monastery. The monks were given the task of collecting historical legends and describing antiquities. According to media reports, the relics of Prince Volodymyr were kept in the church for 30 years.

During the Crimean War of 1854-1855, the church was used as an artillery depot. In 1881, the wooden church was replaced by a stone one. After the Bolshevik occupation of Crimea in 1924, the monastery was liquidated and looted. Three years later, its buildings were transferred to the Directorate of Chersonese Excavations.

Currently, the nominal abbot of the church is the "Metropolitan of Simferopol and Crimea" of the Russian Orthodox Church, Tikhon (Georgy Shevkunov). He also heads the St. Volodymyr Monastery, established in 2024 on the territory of Chersonese.

Recently, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine identified 178 cultural heritage objects illegally exported by Russia from the occupied territories. According to intelligence, the robbery is taking place under the guise of scientific and exhibition activities aimed at destroying Ukrainian identity.

The invaders took 120 archaeological artifacts from the territory of Ukraine and organized an exhibition of them at the Chersonese Tavriya Museum in Crimea. More than 140 more artifacts were discovered during illegal excavations at historical sites in Crimea, including the suburbs of Chersonesos, the Kadykovo settlement, and the Church of St. John the Baptist.

Анна Бальчінос