Church in Prykarpattia Burns Down

In the village Tatariv in the Yaremche region, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, the St. Nicholas Chapel near the local cemetery burned down, Vikna reports.

The last burial took place in the chapel last week. As the electricity was turned off, the fire could not have been caused by a short circuit, the locals say.

The people in the village detained two suspects. An investigation into the fire had been launched.

This is the second similar case the Yaremche region in one the week.

Last Saturday, March 15, the village Dora, the Studite Monastery of St. Illya burned down.

In times of persecution, the regime tried many times to dismantle the sanctuary, but it survived. After the legalization of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, it became one of the most important centers of spiritual life and a pilgrimage destination in the Hutsul regions. The church burned to the ground. Locals reported that in the morning they saw several unknown men throwing Molotov cocktails at the sanctuary and quickly left by car.

The experts’ official conclusions have yet to be released.

On the night of March 15, vandals desecrated the Greek Catholic Church of the Epiphany in Kolomyia.