Centuries-Old, Historic Ukrainian Orthodox Chapel Torn Down in Kiev

The Desyatynny Monastery's Vladimir-Olginsky Chapel which is part of the Canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church was demolished in Kiev, according to the monastery's social media.

Around midnight on Thursday, the monastery's Telegram channel reported that the chapel had been cordoned off by police and military.

"The chapel consecrated by His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir and His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy no longer exists," the message said.

The Monastery clarified that the miraculous icon of the Mother of God "Vladimirskaya-Desyatinnaya" is intact.

"There was a list of this icon in the chapel. There were numerous built-in bronze icons, paintings on the walls, [but] we do not know what happened to them, judging by the video, trucks are everywhere," the message said.

In December, the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church approved the text of the service in honor of this icon.

On September 14, a Ukrainian court issued an order to dismantle the Vladimir-Olginsky chapel of the Desyatin Monastery in Kiev.

Metropolitan Kliment, a member of the Synodal Department, called the decision "an open challenge to Ukrainian Orthodox Christians." The demolition, announced on May 7, was then postponed indefinitely "for technical reasons."

The Desyatynny Church or the Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos is Russia's first stone Orthodox church, built in 989-996.

Last year, the Ukrainian authorities unleashed what amounted to be their biggest wave of persecution against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the country's modern history.