On unification eve: a brawl between UOC KP and UAOC in Ternopol region

UAOC "Archbishop" Tikhon Petraniuk

On December 6, 2018, a fight between the “archbishop” of the UAOC Tikhon Petraniuk and parishioners led by the “abbot” John Boyko took place in the Viniatintsy Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Ternopol region.

Two months ago, the parish changed its jurisdiction, moving from the UAOC to the Kiev Patriarchate, which served the reason for the priesthood ban of “Father” John (Boyko), reports "20 min’".

The "bishop" of the UAOC came to the church during the Divine service to read out the decree on the ban. The parishioners were outraged by “Archbishop” Tikhon’s move and closed the doors of the temple in front of him.

However, the threats and calls of the police didn’t stop the "hierarch". He entered the church and began to read his decree. In response, the believers took the crozier from the "bishop", broke it and rushed into a fight. All this happened in front of young children.

“Archpriest” John received a concussion and a fracture of the ribs as a result of the incident.

The victim filed a complaint about injuries with the Head Office of the Police in the Ternopol Region.

According to “Father” John, he has been subordinate to UOC KP “bishop” Pavel Kravchuk for more than 2 months. "Bishop" Pavel did not respond to the situation in any way.

“We turned for comment to His Grace Pavel. He has refused to respond to this situation so far, although he confirmed the fact that the parish of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Viniatintsy in the Zaleshchiki district belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate, reports the UAOC representative. ‘Vladika’ Pavel also said that the corresponding report had been sent to His Holiness Patriarch Filaret.”

As early as October of this year, political expert Kirill Molchanov warned about the possibility of such conflicts between the UAOC and the UOC KP. “Makary and Filaret have an adversarial relationship that I even doubt that their representatives can be gathered in the same room,” he said.

Read also