Village head and Right Sector grab a UOC temple in Bania Lisovitskaya

The UOC temple of Intercession of the Holy Virgin in Bania Lisovitskaya village, Stryi district, Lvov region

As the UOJ got to know, these days, when the parish of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin of the UOC in the village of Bania Lisovitskaya, Stryi district, Lvov region, celebrates its 20th anniversary, local authorities and activists seized the temple and do not allow believers to worship.

Starting from eight o'clock, members of the Right Sector organization under the leadership of Nikolai Magas, chairman of the Lisovitskaya village council, attempt to take over the temple.

Representatives of the Right Sector immediately after the start of the service occupy the temple premises.

The rector of the UOC community, Archpriest Viktor Putiatitsky, continues the festive divine service in the captured church to shouting, swearing and threatening of activists who demand to stop the service. Parishioners are not allowed into the church.

The temple of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin in vlg. Bania Lisovitskaya of Stryi district, Lvov region, is built between two roads at the entrance to the village on the land that does not belong to the village. This is the only Orthodox church in the whole district, to which believers from Stryi, Morshyn, and many villages within a radius of tens of kilometers come to pray.

All the years since the construction of the temple commenced, the local village council has persecuted the temple of the canonical Church. In order to take the land from the temple, the authorities initiated more than 35 lawsuits in various instances, but to no avail.

According to the parishioners, after the creation of the OCU, the persecution escalated. At one of the meetings of the Stryi district executive committee, the temple was called a disgrace and the command was given: “do whatever you want to eliminate it”.

The village council convened a meeting at which representatives of the UGCC (there are two Greek Catholic churches in the village), together with the Baptists, decided to transfer the church to the OCU. There were no Orthodox believers at this meeting.

There is a lot of pressure on the priest. Many media outlets, including central ones, replicated the fake that "the Moscow Patriarchate had lost its influence in another district of Lvov region."

Orthodox parishioners ask for help and prayers.

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 churches, 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

In Ukraine, Trump’s 'spiritual advisor' reassured of religious freedom

Pastor Mark Burns stated that Ukraine, despite the war, is a "beacon of religious freedom."