Orthodox Church and Sunday school destroyed by arson in Rostov
December 16, 2017. On the morning of December 16, unidentified persons set fire on the temple in honor of the icon of Mother of God from Don, situated in the park named after Anatoly Sobin in Zheleznodorozhny district of Rostov. Attackers also destroyed and burned the parish Sunday school in the premises.
Both buildings were temporary trailers, equipped with the efforts of parishioners – local residents, on the initiative of which the parish appeared three years ago.
For several years the Orthodox community in its own right ennobled the adjoining territory, uprooted the reinforced concrete piles, built benches, planted trees. During this time, a Sunday school was created, not only construction, but also missionary, educational and social projects were realized.
After the publication by some persons of the petition against the construction of the Orthodox temple, threats were received at the address of the parish.
A spokesman for the Head of the Don Metropolitanate, Igor Petrovsky, at a briefing hold at the site of the tragedy, reported following:
– Literally this summer, several people opposed to the church, started persecution of the Orthodox parish in honor of the Don Icon on the Internet. They published a petition, which contained a clear factual lie. The parishioners were accused of cutting all trees, taking almost the best place in the park, and so on. In fact, the parish got the outskirts of the park, where they wanted to build an auto repair base. Then this site was abandoned and it turned into a spontaneous dump. The trees on this vacant lot were planted by parishioners, local residents. They were very indignant with the lies that appeared on the Internet on behalf of local residents, also as with a call to fight against the construction of the temple. I am sure that it is the Internet provocateurs who are responsible for that high degree of social hatred and enmity that led to arson and pogrom.
“We hope that the authorities will do everything possible to find the perpetrators of this monstrous crime, and they will pay special attention to the instigators who push people foreheads in the name of their anti-church complexes,” he said. Petrovsky.
In connection with the misfortune of the arrival of the Don Icon of the Mother of God, the head of the Don Metropolitanate, Metropolitan of Rostov and Novocherkassk, Mercury addressed the flock and all not indifferent inhabitants of our region with the request to render all possible assistance in restoring the temple burnt by the attackers.
Photo documents from the Rostov-on-Don Diocese
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