SBU conducts searches of temples and monasteries of UOC in nine regions

The SBU is looking for agents in Orthodox monasteries. Photo: SBU Telegram channel

On 14 December 2022, SBU officers carried out counter-intelligence operations at UOC (MP) facilities in Zakarpattia, Chernivtsi, Rivne, Volyn, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Lviv, Zhytomyr, and Kherson regions, reads the message on the SBU Telegram channel.

The following temples have been inspected and searched:

• Holy Ascension Cathedral (Uzhhorod);
• Holy Intercession Сhurch (Uzhhorod);
• St. John the Theologian Khreshchatyk Monastery (Chernivtsi district);
• Assumption Monastery (Chernivtsi district);
• Lipki Assumption Monastery (Lipki village, Rivne region);
• The Iberian Icon of the Most-Holy Virgin Convent in the “Yusefin” tract (Sarny district);
• Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Helen Monastery (Kostiantynivka village, Mykolayiv district);
• Holy Spirit Cathedral (Romny);
• Archdeacon-Stephen Church (Romny);
• Holy Trinity Church (Lviv);
• St. Amphilochios of Pochaiv Church (Mostysk);
• Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin (Boryslav);
• Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ (Korosten);
• Holy Transfiguration Cathedral (Ovruch);
• Ovruch-Korosten Eparchy (Ovruch);
• St. Basil's Cathedral (Ovruch);
• Saint Basil's Monastery (Ovruch);
• Church of the Icon of Kazan (Chornobaivka).

Special services officers inspect the territory and premises in search of "persons involved in illegal activities to the detriment of the state sovereignty of Ukraine and items prohibited for circulation". The searches are carried out "with the direct participation of representatives of the church".

The SBU stressed that counter-intelligence measures in churches and monasteries are carried out to protect the population.

"These measures are carried out among other things to rule out the use of religious communities as the 'Russian world' hotbeds and to protect the population from provocations and terrorist acts," the SBU explained.

As the UOJ wrote, the Kharkiv Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church reported that it had no complaints against the SBU.

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