Ulyanovsk Orthodox youth helping build wooden church in memory of burned Karelian church

Orthodox youth of the Simbirsk Diocese have been inspired by the recent tragic loss of the spiritual, historical, and architectural landmark of the Dormition Church in the village of Kondopoga in the Republic of Karelia to help build a new wooden church in the city of Ulyanovsk, 510 miles east of Moscow.

Members of the Simbirsk Orthodox Youth initiative group have gone to help build the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God Church in Ulyanovsk three times already during the Dormition Fast, reports the site of the Simbirsk Metropolitanate.

The youth have explained that they were motivated, at least in part, by the fact that the church was tragically set on fire by a teenager who considers himself a Satanist. They wanted, conversely, to show that not all is lost for the young generation, and that there are still youth who care about the Church and its sacred objects.

“By our participation in the building of churches in our city, we want to show that our generation is not lost, that the youth value sacred objects, and that young people can not only break, but build,” said Sergei Nikolaev, the head of the Diocesan Department for Work With Youth.

“If we’re not indifferent and lazy, if we do not allow the cares and vanities of this world to completely seize our minds and hearts, then ten other churches would appear tomorrow in place of the church that was lost. Thus we will preserve and multiply the legacy of holy Orthodoxy in the Russian land,” he added.

The 18th-century Church of the Dormition, a monument of wooden architecture, built in 1774, was set on fire on August 10 by a 15-year-old Satanist.

Source: Orthochristian.com