Police defends the UOC temple in Bania Lisovitskaya against seizure

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

As it became known to the UOJ, the police removed the activists from the UOC temple of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin in the village of Bania Lisovitskaya, Stryi district, Lvov region, thereby breaking the provocation and preventing its seizure.

The police promptly arrived at the place where the seizure had been reported by the parishioners, whom the Right Sector under the leadership of Nikolai Magas, the Lisovitskaya village council chairman, did not let into the church, and where Archpriest Viktor Putiatitsky, the rector of the UOC community, conducted a festive divine service to shouts, curses and threats of the activists.

Thanks to the presence of the law enforcement officers, the priest was able to quietly finish the service and close the temple.

Having finished the service, the rector thanked the representatives of the law enforcement agencies. The seizure of the temple by local activists was disrupted.

As the UOJ reported, around 8 am in the morning on the Annunciation hioliday, in Bania Lisovitskaya, where the only Orthodox church is located in the district, the Right Sector led by Nikolai Magas, the Lisovitskaya village council head, broke into the church. Representatives of the Right Sector occupied the temple premises immediately after the start of the service.

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, which believers from Stryi, Morshyn, and many villages within a radius of tens of kilometers come to pray to.

All the years since the start of construction of the temple, 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.

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.

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