Not a single person comes to "liturgy" in the seized temple of Khmelnytsky
No one came to the occupied temple of the UOC in Khmelnytsky for the “service”. Photo: screenshot of the UOC YouTube channel
On May 7, 2023, not a single person came to the seized Church of Our Lady of Kazan in Khmelnytsky for the Sunday “liturgy” of the OCU, reports the Information and Education Department of the UOC, which published a video of the “worship”.
The footage shows that the church is completely empty.
As reported by the UOJ, the Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God of Khmelnytsky was seized on April 5, 2023 by the efforts of the local authorities. The organizers were the deputy of the Khmelnytsky City Council Vitaliy Podhaychuk and the head of the city department of culture and tourism Artem Romasiukov. At a meeting held the day before, the authorities “appointed” a deputy of the Khmelnytsky City Council (the team of Mayor Symchyshyn) Oleh Yanitsky as the head of the parish council. In the videos of Suspilne Khmelnytsky, the participants in the meeting on transition to the OCU admit to camera that they have nothing to do with the religious community of the temple.
On April 19, 2023, Serhiy Tiurin, deputy head of the Khmelnytsky RMA, by order No. 248, “renamed” the Church of the Kazan Mother of God into the Church of the Pochaiv Mother of God. Resources close to the OCU stated that "the old name of the temple contained the phrase ‘Kazan Icon of the Mother of God’, which is associated with the Russian city of Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan."
Read also
U.S. House of Representatives passes ban on sex-change surgeries for minors
The lower house of Congress supported an initiative limiting medical interventions that could have irreversible consequences for the health of minors.
Armenian Church to appeal to international bodies over government pressure
The decision was made by the Supreme Spiritual Council in Etchmiadzin against the backdrop of criminal cases, pressure on the clergy, and the state's attempts to interfere in church life.
Pashinyan's supporters attempt to storm Etchmiadzin Cathedral in Armenia
The confrontation around the Armenian Apostolic Church intensified after rebellious hierarchs called for the Catholicos's resignation and attempted to exert forceful pressure in Etchmiadzin.
Persecuted community of Maliatyntsi celebrates first patronal feast after seizure
In Bukovyna, the faithful of the St. Nicholas community in the village of Maliatyntsi celebrated the Feast Day of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of Myra in Lycia for the first time after the church seizure.
European authorities downplay scale of Christian persecution, report says
Human rights defenders reported an increase in attacks on believers in the EU and pointed out that official statistics do not reflect the real level of anti-Christian hostility.
Mukachevo Eparchy bishops congratulate orphaned children on St Nicholas Day
Metropolitan Theodore and Bishop Hilarion visited the “New Family” children’s shelter in Uzhhorod.