Confrontation of OCU activists with parishioners ends in Berezhnitsa
Church of St. Michael the Archangel of God in the village of Berezhnitsa
On March 8, 2019, the assault by OCU activists of the temple of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the village of Berezhnitsa, Chernovtsy region, was over, reports the official website of the Chernovtsy-Bukovina Eparchy of the UOC on Facebook.
At 3 o'clock am, after 20 hours of confrontation between the parishioners of the canonical Church and supporters of the new church structure, the chairman of the village council Vasily Solomko sealed the Church of the Holy Archangel Michael.
The rector, Father Constantine, still had the keys to the church.
2 people who all this time were in the temple, were released.
The rector led one of them by the hand to the police car. On the way, they received blows from OCU activists, but law enforcers intervened only when the UOC parishioner was in the car.
The fate of the second believer is still unknown.
At 3:15 am, the confronting sides dispersed.
The Liturgy led by the rector of the UOC church, Fr. Konstantin, was announced for March 10 at 8 am.
On March 7, 2019, from 7:00 to 8:00, activists of the PCU attacked a church in the village of Berezhnitsa. About 100 people broke into the territory of the temple: they hacked the lock with a crowbar and damaged the gate. Supporters of the new church structure made the requirement to introduce alternate service or seal the church so that no one could serve in it. The assaulters would not let anyone but their own enter the territory of the temple. The situation was not resolved even after they had been read out a court decision, which obliged the law enforcement agencies to begin criminal proceedings concerning the impediment to the Archangel Michael parish of the village of Berezhnitsa to perform religious rites. At 23:50, a fight began, the parishioners of the temple were injured. At 1:13 am the fight ended, after which the head of the village council offered a compromise – the rector of the church will serve on Sunday, but only local residents will be allowed to enter the church. OCU activists refused to compromise.
The editorial board of the UOJ reminds: in case of violation of the rights of the episcopate, clergy, laity and institutions of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (obstruction of worship, seizure of temples, commission of provocations and pressure, threats, etc.) one should immediately contact the Legal Department of the UOC by phone: 097- 537-55-96.
Read also
Hryshchuk: If UOC hands over its church itself, angle grinders aren't needed
An OCU chaplain called on UOC believers to accept the loss of the shrine for the sake of their own "enlightenment".
18th-century gates of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra presented in London
State art historians have identified masterpieces by Kyiv goldsmiths in London.
In mosque, OCU "bishop" and DESS experts dine at iftar during Ramadan
At an iftar in Kyiv, authors of expert assessments against the UOC were awarded Islamic orders in the presence of the deputy head of DESS and a "hierarch" of Dumenko's structure.
Shevchuk tells Budanov of UGCC’s “state-building role”
The head of the Uniates told the head of the Presidential Office that his Church was ready to partner with the state and presented him with a book on the work of special services in the Church.
Authorities decline to disclose Ukraine’s population size
The State Statistics Service acknowledged that it has up-to-date population estimates for the country, but has decided not to make them public.
Lithuanian govt vows to protect Orthodox Church from Russian intelligence
Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry has called for curbing the influence of Russian intelligence services on the Church, while an adviser to President Nausėda warned against labeling the entire structure a security threat.