The Russian occupation authorities dismantled the dome of the OCU Cathedral in Simferopol

In Simferopol, the occupiers dismantled the dome from the OCU Cathedral

Representation of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea

The Russian occupation authorities of Crimea dismantled the dome of the Cathedral of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Volodymyr and Princess Olga of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Simferopol.

This was announced by the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets.

The Ombudsman added that he received this information from Metropolitan Kliment of Simferopol and Crimea.

The Metropolitan informed Lubinets that the constant pressure of the occupation authorities and the eviction of the Crimean Diocese from this Cathedral actually destroyed the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) on the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia.

“In its aggression against Ukraine, the Russian Federation continues to destroy churches, imprison and torture clergymen, persecutes representatives of religious communities who are on the territory of Ukraine and are not loyal to the occupation authorities and the Russian Orthodox Church“, Lubinets noted.

The ombudsman added that he sent inquiries about the destruction of the Ukrainian church by the occupiers and the persecution of the OCU believers to the United Nations. He also called on the world community to react to another crime against the faith of the faithful of the Crimean Eparchy of the OCU.

A few days ago The representative office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea reported that Mrthe occupiers dismantled the dome of the Cathedral of Prince Volodymyr and Princess Olga on April 8.

It was also reported there that since the beginning of the occupation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, the pressure of the occupying authorities on the Crimean Diocese of the OCU continues on the peninsula. Due to these actions of the occupiers, the number of parishes and priests of the OCU in Crimea has sharply decreased: before the occupation there were 49 religious communities, and as of February 24, 2022, there were 7.

“After the start of the full-scale invasion and the announcement of Putin’s mobilization, Russia began to persecute the clerics of the OCU in Crimea and illegally issue them summonses, which forced the latter to leave the territory of occupied Crimea“, the representative office added.

It was clarified there that the Simferopol Cathedral of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Volodymyr and Princess Olga of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, on which the dome was currently being dismantled, was captured by the occupation authorities a year ago – in May 2023.

The State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience also called on the international community to condemn the occupation authorities’ dismantling of the dome of the Cathedral. “The Cathedral was captured and looted back in May 2023, valuable relics and icons were stolen. The destruction of a religious building – the spiritual center of the Crimean Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine – is nothing more than a conscious act of ethnic cleansing and cultural genocide“, the department noted.