Clerics of Rovno eparchy are called to a private meeting with the President

Petro Poroshenko during his visit to Rovno

During the visit of Petro Poroshenko to Rovno region, several clerics of Rovno eparchy of the UOC were summoned to a private conversation with the President. This is reported by the correspondent of OCU. The conversation was supposed to relate to the transition of their religious communities to the OCU.

Several priests from Zdolbunov and Ostrog districts received an invitation from the heads of district administrations to meet with the President of Ukraine in a telephone format, says Protopriest Victor Zemlianoy, head of the Department for Interfaith Settlement at Rovno eparchy of the UOC. The offer to talk with the guarantor was at first peaceful, but then the officials even tried to put pressure on the families of the priests.

“The priests still do not want to voice their names because they are afraid of reprisals from the authorities, but I can testify to the cases when the priests were pressed not only to change the religious affiliation but to pass to the new OCU with the whole community,” commented Protopriest Victor. “To avoid pressure from the authorities, some priests had to leave home with their family on this day and hide at their relatives'.”

Recall the joint trip to regions of Ukraine of Petro Poroshenko and “honorary patriarch” of the OCU Filaret with the Tomos started on January 10 from Rovno.

Earlier, Archbishop Theodosius of Boyarka said that the state had made a move from intimidation of believers to repression against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

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