One of the oldest and most sacred Christian monasteries in the world was set ablaze this week when Russia launched a massive missile and drone assault on Kyiv.
The Daily Wire reports It badly damaged the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Monastery — a site that has stood as the spiritual heart of Eastern Orthodox Christianity for nearly a thousand years.
The Lavra which was founded in 1051 by a monk named Anthony who had trained on Mount Athos in Greece, is not merely a Ukrainian landmark.
It is among the founding institutions of Christian civilisation in the Slavic world.
It’s the monastery where the region’s earliest written histories were composed, where saints are entombed in underground caves, and where pilgrims have travelled for centuries from across the Orthodox world.
HOW A SUDDEN DOWNPOUR OF RAIN SAVED THE HISTORIC BUILDING
Bishop Avramiy, the Bishop of Boryspil and vicar of the cathedral, said a sudden downpour saved the historic building:
“It was a miracle. Right after the strike it started to rain.”
“At first, the rain was quiet and calm, but later, as the fire began to spread, the rain started to pour down.”
“In this we see God’s blessing.”
“The Russians wanted to destroy this cathedral and they failed because the heavens themselves helped the firefighters extinguish the flames.”
MONASTERY AND CATHEDRAL WERE ON ‘WORLD HERITAGE IN DANGER’ LIST
UNESCO had already placed it on its World Heritage in Danger list since Russia’s full-scale invasion began.
Ukraine’s emergency services reported that 800 square metres of the Dormition Cathedral’s roof were destroyed in the blaze, with a separate fire consuming 1,000 square metres of an adjacent national cultural complex.
Firefighters battled through Monday night beneath the monastery’s iconic towers and domes.
At least nine people were killed across Ukraine in the overnight assault — four in Kyiv, and five rescue workers in Kharkiv responding to an earlier strike — after Russia launched 611 drones and 70 missiles.
It was one of the most intense aerial bombardments on Kyiv in recent weeks, involving dozens of missiles and hundreds of drones targeting multiple sites across the city and wider Ukraine, authorities said.
“A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY, AGAINST HISTORY, AGAINST CHRISTIANITY”
President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the smouldering site on Monday, calling the attack “one of Russia’s most serious crimes against Christian culture to date.”
Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kyiv called it “a crime against humanity, against history, against Christianity.”
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha chracterised Russian dictator Vladimir Putin as “the 21st century’s worst barbarian.”
“We will be urgently initiating all relevant procedures within UNESCO and all other international mechanisms, demanding immediate and adequate responses to this state barbarism.”
“WE NEED ACTION NOW TO STOP RUSSIAN BARBARISM”
“We expect strong reactions by international institutions and capitals. No vague words, silence, or weak steps,” the foreign minister added.
“We need action now to stop Russian barbarism.”
Russia denied responsibility, claiming a stray Ukrainian defensive Patriot missile caused the damage.
Ukraine’s security service rejected that, citing drone wreckage recovered at the scene.
ECHOES OF PREVIOUS MOSCOW DESTRUCTION OF CATHEDRAL
The attack carries a grim historical echo.
This is not the first time the Dormition Cathedral has been destroyed on Moscow’s orders.
In 1941, retreating Soviet NKVD operatives mined much of central Kyiv before abandoning it, demolishing the cathedral and killing thousands of civilians in the process.
The Soviet Union blamed the Nazis for the Katyn massacre — and that lie held for decades.
CATHEDRAL ONLY REBUILT AFTER UKRAINE’S INDEPENDENCE IN 2000
The cathedral was only fully rebuilt after Ukrainian independence, consecrated in the year 2000.
The monastery has endured Mongol sackings, Golden Horde raids, Soviet secularisation, and World War II destruction.
Each time, it was rebuilt. Its underground caves still hold the naturally mummified remains of medieval saints, including Nestor the Chronicler, author of the region’s earliest histories.
Its bell towers and baroque churches have defined the Kyiv skyline for centuries.
WILL THE LAVRA MONASTERY RECOVER FROM THIS ATTACK?
Whether this latest assault represents another wound from which the Lavra will recover — or something more final — will depend on how the war ends.
What is not in question is what was attacked: not just a Ukrainian building, but one of the living roots of Christian civilisation.
The Pechersk Lavra complex, founded in 1051, is one of Ukraine’s most important religious sites and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990.
It has been repeatedly affected during the war, but the latest fire marks one of the most significant incidents of damage to the cathedral itself since the conflict began.
The post “A Crime Against Humanity And Christianity” appeared first on Vision Christian Media.