Khmelnytskyi: Raiders seize UOC Church of the Icon of Our Lady of Kazan

A meeting of OCU supporters near the UOC Church of the Icon of Our Lady of Kazan in Khmelnytskyi. Photo: suspilne.media

In the Grechany district of Khmelnytskyi, supporters of the OCU seized the UOC Church UOC Church of the Icon of Our Lady of Kazan, reports the press service of the Khmelnytskyi Eparchy of the UOC.

City councilman Vitaliy Pidhaychuk and the head of the City Department of Culture and Tourism, Artem Romasiukov, urged the citizens to seize the church. People not related to the church community gathered outside the church. They broke down the door and seized the church.

The day before, the opponents of the UOC held a meeting during which they voted for the transfer of the parish to the OCU. From a suspilne.media story, it is known that people living at the other end of the city, as well as parishioners of the OCU, took part in the vote.

"All citizens, and especially residents of the Grechany micro-district, know that the rector of the church, Archpriest Pyotr Dyachuk, has built and reverently cared for the church with much effort," the Khmelnytskyi Eparchy said in a statement. “People who did not attend the services and did not participate in the improvement of the temple came and said it was their property".

In connection with the raider seizure of the church, the rector and the parish community appealed to the police and the regional state administration.

As reported, supporters of the OCU led by Vitaliy Pidhaychuk and regional councillor Yuriy Smal seized St. George's Church in Khmelnytskyi.

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