A UOC temple under construction burnt down by radicals in Nikolayev

In the night of August 25-26, the wooden church of the Holy Spirit of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was burned in the Oktyabrsky district of Nikolayev.

According to the rector of the church Archpriest Bogdan Chernenky, the conflict around this temple has been going on for several years. The place for building a church in the center of the district was legally given to the local Orthodox community.

However, according to the rector, local businessman Gennady Goncharovsky wanted to build an entertainment center on this place. Albert Panchenko, a member of the public council at the city executive committee, began to actively help him in this. On their initiative last year, a regional referendum was organized, which, contrary to the expectations of the initiators, decided: "An Orthodox church should be built here, not an entertainment center."

After the construction began, the radicals from the National Corps (the right-wing radical party in Nikolayev, - Ed.) began to counteract this process in every possible way. They beat up workers, broke down equipment, filled ditches under the foundation.

Law enforcement agencies have completely disregarded the solution of the conflict. In an informal conversation with the senior priest of the temple under construction, the head of the local police said that they are powerless against the National Corps, and that the community is better off solving this issue.

Despite the arson that destroyed most of the building materials, the faithful of the UOC community intend to continue construction works, since the land is legally assigned to them.

The UOJ will follow the developments.

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