Two more parishes of UOC join 24-hour prayer for faith defence

Believers and rector of the temple in the village of Tovtry doing the round-the-clock prayerful standing

The parishioners of the Holy Dormition churches in the villages of Tovtry and Mikhalcha have begun a continuous prayer and watch near the church.

Believers of the Holy Dormition churches in the villages of Tovtry and Mikhalcha of the Chernovtsy region joined the 24-hour prayerful standing, which the community of the Holy Dormition Church of Vaslovovtsy began on January 27, 2019, as reported on the official Facebook page of the eparchy.

The parishioners of both temples held parish meetings, in which an overwhelming majority decided to remain under the jurisdiction of the canonical Church.  Loyalty to the UOC and its Primate, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev and All Ukraine, was testified by 283 members of the parish in the village of Mikhalcha and 208 parishioners in the village of Tovtry.

The territorial community of Tovtry held its own meeting and “voluntarily transferred” the rural church to the OCU. Members of the territorial community shouted insults at the UOC believers and slandered them.

In the village of Mikhalcha, about 10 activists of the new church structure decided not to limit themselves to voting and came to the church demanding to give them the keys. The procession of church raiders was led by OCU “clerics”. 

Believers of the canonical Church and the rector of the temple did not allow adherents of a new religious structure to grab the church. Moreover, along with the 24-hour prayerful standing, people organized a watch near the temple to protect it from seizure.

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