UOC believers in Riasniki have to protect the temple from seizure at night
Parishioners of the Holy Protection church in the village of Riasniki. Photo: spzh.news
In the village of Riasniki, Rovno Region, parishioners of the Holy Protection temple of the UOC are forced to spend the night in the churchyard in order to protect their church from activists of the OCU.
The UOJ correspondent visited the scene and found out that night watch at the entrance to the temple has been going on for the fourth day. Every day, 30-40 villagers gather at the temple with warm clothes as soon as it gets dark outside.
The actions of Riasniki residents were caused by dishonesty of their fellow villagers who had recently arbitrarily re-registered the religious community of the UOC-KP in favor of the OCU, after which they rigged the protocol of the village meeting so that the head of the Rovno Regional State Administration, Igor Timoshenko, could make a decree on alternate services in the Holy Protection church of the UOC.
“We are all simple working people, we did not graduate from higher educational institutions, but we know a little the laws of our country. In fact, the protocol of the village meeting, with which the religious community of the OCU addressed the acting chairman of the Regional State Administration (Rovno Regional State Administration – Ed.), Mr. Timoshenko, is falsified,” said Alexander Berezhniak, a parishioner of the Holy Protection temple of the UOC. “This fact was confirmed during a verbal skirmish on August 18 in the churchyard by many of my villagers, and OCU activist Sergey Kotovets, a school employee, even shouted out, “There was no meeting: what they are for if you don’t go to them?!”
Among those who guard the temple in the village of Riasniki every night, there are very young children and elderly people, as well as young mothers who left their children at home. According to these people, it is their irresistible desire to protect their faith and unwillingness to give the temple to those who do not really need it that brings them to the temple every night.
Recall that the head of the Rovno Regional State Administration demanded that the community in Riasniki serve alternately with the OCU. Afterwards, activists of the newly created religious organization tried to seize the temple of the canonical Church but believers of the UOC thwarted this attempt.
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