Linden planted by Monk Job uprooted near Pochaiv Lavra

The linden, planted almost 500 years ago by the Monk Job of Pochaiv near the Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra, was uprooted.

This was reported in the telegram channel of the Chernivtsi-Bukovyna diocese of the UOC.

“On Holy Week, the backbone of the oldest Pochaiv linden was dismantled. They dismantled the lime-church of St. Job of Pochaiv. Almost 500 years ago, St. Job planted linden alleys along the roads in Pochaiv. One of these lindens has survived to this day but withered. The history of our Church, our country is disappearing before our eyes,” the diocese’s telegram channel says.

Who exactly destroyed the tree is not specified.

The Pochaev linden was a natural monument of local significance in Ukraine. The diameter of its trunk was 200 cm. In 1974, by decision of the executive committee of the Ternopil Regional Council, the tree was declared an object of the natural reserve fund.

Job of Pochaiv (1551-1651) – abbot of the Pochaiv Monastery, with his blessing, Ivan Fedorov printed the Ostrog Bible in 1581, the first complete edition of the holy book in Church Slavonic, in the printing house of Prince Konstanty Ostrogski.

As previously reported by the UOJ, the SBU "writes" a suspect in the crime to the brethren of the Pochaiv Lavra.