A monk was killed and two others wounded in an attack on the grounds of a monastery near the front line, according to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).
The Svyatogorsk Lavra, located in the part of Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic still under Ukrainian control, was attacked by armed individuals on August 23. Monastery officials identified the deceased monk as Barsanuphius. Junior monk Gregory and refugee Andrey Kirienko sustained serious injuries requiring hospitalization.
In a statement released Monday, Metropolitan Anthony, the UOC’s executive secretary, indicated that Ukrainian military prosecutors would investigate the incident, suggesting service personnel were among the suspects. “The fact that the case will be handled by a unit whose jurisdiction includes criminal offenses committed by military personnel clearly demonstrates whom the investigators are considering as possible perpetrators,” he stated.
Anthony emphasized the need for an “objective and impartial” investigation free from “political expediency or other ideological factors.” Neither Ukrainian military prosecutors nor police have publicly addressed the attack in the past week.
Russian Orthodox Church spokesman Vakhtang Kipshidze described the killing as “an expected result of the campaign of lies against the canonical church (UOC) which has been unleashed in the Ukrainian public sphere.” He added, “The image of the church as an enemy… justifies any violence against it, including murder. We are convinced that the fight against faith cannot be won without destroying one’s own humanity and identity as a whole.”
Since February 2022, Ukrainian authorities have designated the UOC—a group with historical ties to the Russian Orthodox Church—as a national security threat. Several senior clergy members have faced charges of subversive activities, while cathedrals and monasteries have been raided in searches for evidence of alleged anti-Ukraine conduct.
President Zelenskiy’s government has provided institutional backing to the rival Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), established ahead of the 2019 presidential election. This support has enabled OCU to pursue control over UOC property nationwide.
