Schema-archim. Amphilochius about Baranovka: Beaten, strangled, trampled

Assault on the church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God in Baranovka village

During the storming of the church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God in Baranovka village, Zhitomir region, the OCU activists attacked clergymen and nuns, told the UOJ schema-archimandrite Amphilochius (Voloschenko), rector of the Holy Protection temple of Olkha village.

Along with the sisters of the Holy Protection nunnery of the Zhitomir Diocese of the UOC, which opened in 2018, he joined the prayer standing in support of the temple of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God.

During the assault, the women and children remained in the temple, while the clergy, men and nuns led a prayer service near the temple. However, activists of the new church structure began to throw clergy over the fence of the temple.

"20 people were thrown out. They beat, strangled, tore off a pectoral cross,” said schema-archimandrite Amphilochius.

Activists of the OCU bit his finger through and were throwing chicken eggs at the nuns. The supporters of the "new church" were trampling the pectoral cross of the priesthood into the ground; they paid no attention to the exclamations of the witnesses struck by what they had seen.

According to Amphilochius, among the sisters who defended the temple was nun Dimitriya (Passevich). Her son Ivan Pasevich, senior lieutenant of the Lvov airborne brigade, deputy commander of the 3rd company of the 80th separate airmobile brigade, died in the ATO zone. Ivan Pasevich, who bore the call signal "Batia" (papa – Ed.), was posthumously honored with the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, III degree. He became an honorary citizen of Liubeshov district of Volyn region, in whose honor a square was laid in the city where his grave is located.

During the attack on the temple in Baranovka, nun Dimitriya reminded the raiders that her son was the ATO hero, but the OCU supporters threw her outside the temple. Obscenities and insults hurled in the address of the hero’s mother.

On March 10, 2019 at 2 pm, hundreds of activists attacked the UOC temple in vlg. Baranovka. The attack of the temple began with the so-called “veche” (popular assembly in medieval Russia – Ed.), convened in the central square of Baranovka by Oleg Kovalsky, the deputy of the Radical Party of Oleg Liashko.

This MP called on patriots to deal with the UOC temple and to determine what kind of church should be in Baranovka – Russian or Ukrainian.

Baranovka believers managed to defend their temple. “About 150 women with children were standing like prayer shields with icons,” said Archpriest Roman Klim, rector of the temple of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God, who spoke about the confrontation between the parishioners of the canonical Church and activists of the OCU. According to him, the siege of the temple lasted until midnight, and only after the supporters of the new church structure had left the territory, the parishioners were able to go home.

The UOJ Editorial Board also 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 churches, commission of provocations and pressure, threats, etc.), one should immediately contact the Legal Department of the UOC by phone: 097 -537-55-96.

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