Key points
- The Cabinet of Ministers added 13 cultural heritage sites in Donetsk region to the State Register.
- Among them are St. Nicholas Church in Druzhkivka and the Sviatohirsk Assumption Monastery complex.
- Adding these sites to the register helps preserve them and draws attention to their protection.
- The Sviatohirsk Assumption Monastery is one of the oldest spiritual complexes in eastern Ukraine.
- St. Nicholas Church shapes the architectural character of Druzhkivka and serves as a focal point of the city’s main street.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, on the initiative of the Ministry of Culture, added 13 cultural heritage sites of national significance in Donetsk region to the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine. Among them are the Sviatohirsk Assumption Monastery complex, also known as the Sviatohirsk Holy Assumption Lavra, and St. Nicholas Church in Druzhkivka.
Currently, the State Register includes 34,333 cultural heritage sites, of which 2,710 are of national significance.
Inclusion in the Register helps preserve these sites and draws additional attention to their protection. Russians constantly attempt to destroy our monuments, so the state is strengthening their safeguarding and emphasising the need to comply with international humanitarian law.
– Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy of Ukraine and Minister of Culture, Tetiana Berezhna.
The Ministry of Culture also noted that St. Nicholas Church in Druzhkivka is an important element of the city’s architecture and serves as a focal point of the central street.
The Sviatohirsk Assumption Monastery is one of the oldest spiritual centres in eastern Ukraine, where, according to tradition, Saints Cyril and Methodius preached as early as the 9th century.
Although the first written records of the monastery date back to 1526, researchers believe that the cave complex existed much earlier, even before the Christianisation of Rus’.
Today, the monastery complex stretches along the river near a chalk hill and includes caves, cells, and above-ground churches, including the Holy Assumption Cathedral and the Peter and Paul Church, while St. Nicholas Church is located on a terrace of the hill.
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