Bogorodichnoe, Donetsk Province, Ukraine, January 26, 2026
Photo: svlavra.church.ua
In the night of January 24-25, unknown perpetrators robbed the skete of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s persecuted Svyatogorsk Lavra dedicated to the Joy of All Who Sorrow Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Bogorodichnoe, Donetsk Province.
When the watchman arrived on the morning of January 25, he found the gates open—the chains holding the lock had been cut with bolt cutters—and the doors to both the lower and upper chapels broken down. Tire tracks from a cargo truck and numerous footprints near the church indicated a group operation, the Lavra reports.
Photo: svlavra.church.ua
The thieves stole eight of the ten bells from the bell tower. They tore the clapper from the largest bell (weighing 1.43 tons) and threw the second-largest bell (1,320 lbs.) onto the floor.
From the lower chapel, the perpetrators took four candle stands. They also entered the altar, taking two Gospels from the altar table, along with altar lampadas, candlesticks, the seven-branched lampstand, a crucifix from the Table of Oblation, and a brass altar lectern. The remaining items in the altar were scattered and lampadas were broken. The church collection box was also pried open.
Photo: svlavra.church.ua
Although the Lavra has housed and fed thousands of refugees since fighting began in eastern Ukraine in 2014, it has been targeted by the Ukrainian state and media because of its firm stance for Orthodoxy in Ukraine. The monastery’s abbot, His Eminence Metropolitan Arseny of Svyatogorsk, has been held in detention for more than a year and a half on blatantly fabricated charges.
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