Uniates and "Black Hundred" militants attempt to seize UOC church in Kolomyia at Trinity (VIDEO)

On June 4, the Day of Pentecost, Greek Catholic priests, with the support of the "Black Hundred" militants, attempted to seize the UOC church in Kolomyia in the Subcarpathia, reports the Information and Education Department of the UOC.

According to the rector of the Church of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, Archpriest Vasily Kobelsky, they tricked their way into the church and served the Liturgy there.

"That day, activists and priests of the UGCC organized a traditional procession to the grave of the Sich shooters, located near our church. I was approached by an SBU officer and asked to be given an opportunity to enter the temple and pray. We agreed. But the Greek Catholic priests, and there were thirteen of them, immediately went to the altar and began to perform the Liturgy. We did not expect this," he said.

According to these activists, their main goal was to persuade the religious community to voluntarily withdraw from the UOC and transfer the church, which was legally made available for use to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by the state, to the UGCC.

Reportedly, with the support of the "Black Hundred" militants, they quickly moved from agitation to insults not only to the priests of the UOC, but also to the Orthodox women present.

The parishioners were outraged by the actions of the Greek Catholic clergy. "Why do you, priests, inflame strife among people? You pit people against one another," the parishioner said to one of provocateurs.

At the moment, the church is sealed. On Tuesday, local authorities will decide who to leave the church for.

Earlier, at the session of the City Council on May 23, the deputies tried to take the church away from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and hand it over to the Kiev Patriarchate or Greek Catholics. The chairman of the city council promised that no one would take the temple by force.

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