Russians destroy 18th-century wooden Cossack church in Kherson Oblast – photos

Russian forces have destroyed the Church of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, an 18th-century architectural monument, in Beryslav in Kherson Oblast. It burned down following a drone attack.

Source: Kherson Oblast State Administration

Details: The administration said the church was the only surviving example in Ukraine of wooden Cossack sacred architecture from that era. It was built from oak logs in 1725 at the Perevolochna fortress without the use of metal nails.

Cossacks dismantled the church in 1784 and floated it down the Dnipro River to Beryslav, where it was reassembled. Since then, the building has been closely linked to the history of the town's founding and development.

The church was originally consecrated in honour of the Resurrection of Christ, but in 1853 it was moved to the Vvedenske cemetery and reconsecrated in honour of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary.

During the Soviet era, the church was closed and used as a warehouse, with plans at one point to dismantle it for firewood. Services resumed during World War II.

Following the start of the full-scale war, the church remained under the administration of the Nova Kakhovka eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate).

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