Another unauthorized reconstruction In Uzhgorod – the Transfiguration church domes are being replaced

Church of the Transfiguration is one of the oldest temples of Uzhgorod and by the order of Transcarpathian RSA department of culture it has been included in the list of monuments of local importance. Built in 1802, the church initially was the Greek Catholic temple, in communist times it was given to the university and reconstructed, and only in 1992 was returned to the community, but as the Orthodox Church.

Pastor of the church, Father John said: the domes need to be replaced, because "the old ones already leak". The priest promised that the shape of the domes will not not be changed – they will remain the old octagonal shape, but will be "slightly increased".

Instead, the chief architect of Uzhgorod Oleksandr Sheba is indignant: the domes of the church, he said, can not "be larger or smaller, wider or narrower." "Transfiguration Church on Tseholnyanska street is the first Greek-Catholic church, the building belongs to the monuments of local importance and it can not be reconstructed without approval." Oleksandr Sheba said that nobody had applied to the city architecture department for the approvals for the reconstruction of the church domes. "Nothing has been agreed with me, I do not know anything about the plans that would concern the changing of the appearance of the building. I have already given the information about the works to replace the dome without the permission to the diocese."

Also Sheba said that he had brought the information about the reconstruction to the attention of the regional service of cultural heritage, because Transfiguration Church is included to the list of protected objects.

In general, the problem of changing the appearance of buildings in Uzhgorod is not new. Experts repeatedly emphasize the need for compliance with all established legal procedures that precede any reconstruction and even repairs. Activists and just concerned residents, in their turn, almost cry out loud about the gradual loss of the unique appearance of the regional center, especially in the historic part of town.

The Chief Architect Uzhgorod promised that the reconstruction of the domes on Transfiguration Church will stay under control. And senior specialist of the regional department of culture for the protection of cultural heritage Tomas Sopko also added that if necessary, they will appeal to the prosecution, as they did, for example, in the case of the construction of illegal structure on the protected area near the monument of wooden architecture, Holy Spirit Church in Kolochava.