Rovno authorities do not invite UOC priests to civil funeral rites – Metropolitan Bartholomew (Vashchuk)

A funeral rite for the militaries of the Ukrainian Armed Forces who have tragically died in the east of Ukraine for the last two years is performed the UOC clergy, since most soldiers were parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, noted the vladyka. This fact is thoroughly turned a blind eye to by Rovno RSA, he believes.

Metropolitan of Rovno and Ostrog Bartholomew sent an address to the head of Rovno Regional State Administration, in which he expressed his concern by the fact that public events are attended by the Kiev Patriarchate clergy only, the representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church being ignored.

In his address Metropolitan Bartholomew noted, in particular, “on the 4th November 2016 two militaries, who had died in the ATO zone, were delivered to the regional center for a public visitation. The chief of the UOC KP in Rovno region was engaged in the funeral rite given that the dead soldiers Sergey Kochetov and Nikolay Sayuk were parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and were buried on 5th November 2016 by the UOC priests in Adamovka village, Bereznovo district and Studinka village, Dubno district.”

Clergymen of Rovno and Sarny diocese of the UOC conducted a lity for the dead warriors on November 5.

According to the Chancellor of Rovno diocese, there have been several similar cases over the last two years, while according to the information of the deanery of Rovno diocese, “it is the priests of our Church who perform funeral rites for the dead service members.”

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