Donetsk, June 4, 2024
Photo: spzh.live
There have been new attacks on the Holy Dormition-Svyatogorsk Lavra, this time from cyber criminals.
The Union of Orthodox Journalists reported that the Lavra, located on the high banks of the Seversky Donets River in a scenic national park, has had to change its email address because the former one was hacked.
On June 1, 2024, unknown individuals hacked the email and deleted the YouTube channel of the Svyatogorsk Lavra of the UOC.
The monastery’s Telegram channel reported that efforts are currently underway to restore the YouTube channel.
The brethren of the Lavra request prayers for the successful resolution of the situation.
The monastery also warned recently that fake messages are being sent to messenger users, supposedly on behalf of the Lavra’s treasurer, Archimandrite Theophan, requesting assistance.
“We officially declare that Archimandrite Theophan does not use any messengers; they are not even installed on his phone. The messages are being sent by scammers,” the official website of the Lavra stated.
In late April, OrthoChristian reported that the abbot of Svyatogorsk Lavra, Metropolitan Arseny had been taken from the monastery for interrogation, and sentenced to 60 days of detention without bail. He was accused of being pro-Kremlin and of giving information on the location of Ukrainian soldiers. The incident used to accuse him was a sermon in which he cited that certain persons were unable to reach the monastery because they had been detained at a security post.
The Svyatogorsk Lavra, under the guidance of its highly respected abbot, has been housing and feeding hundreds of refugees for a decade now. Unfortunately, the Lavra and its sketes have repeatedly come under attack during the war since February 2022, suffering considerable damage.
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