Residents of Rivne Region explained why they demolished an 18th-century church.

Demolition of the church in a village in Rivne Region

In the village of Zaborol, on May 20, a wooden church of St. John the Baptist built in 1762 was demolished. The parishioners plan to build a new church in its place. Residents of the village explain their decision by stating that the building was in an emergency condition. This was reported by «Glavcom» citing Suspilne.

The parishioners supported the demolition of the church, referring to the building's emergency state and the need to construct a new one.

“I support the demolition and support the construction. Because I think about the future of my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. If we don’t do it, then future generations definitely won’t,” said local resident Maria Yakovets.

Historian and art historian Mykola Bendiuk, who reported the demolition of the church on Facebook, called it “destruction of a monument.” He claimed that the church was cut down with chainsaws, and fragments of human bones were found at its site.

“Another 'funeral' of our history and culture. It’s sad that no one has been held accountable for the destruction of the church in Rozvazh; and here we go again with the destruction,” noted Mykola Bendiuk.

Parishioner Yevheniya Petruk denies the use of chainsaws, explaining that after the domes were removed by a crane, the building quickly collapsed due to the rot of the wood.

“No one cut with a chainsaw – that’s a lie. The guys took off the tops, a crane arrived, first, they removed the domes, and then it was easy to dismantle... Everything was rotten, hands went through holes, there was nothing to do,” she noted.

Despite its historical value, the church did not have the status of a local architectural monument. The church would have survived much longer if it had not been covered with plastic siding over 10 years ago. I mean the legislation regarding the preservation of cultural heritage. The monument was not an object of local architectural value, and the community did not violate this legislation,” said Svitlana Tylko.

Analysis

This news discusses a complex issue of demolishing a wooden church to build a new temple. The contradictions between those supporting and protesting this decision create a discourse about the future and preservation of historical heritage. In particular, the denial of the use of chainsaws and indications on how the church’s demolition could have been avoided make this situation more complicated and controversial.