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
OCU activist admits breaking into UOC church in Sloviansk
Oleksandr Onyshchenko said that the OCU held its first "service" at the Seraphim Church, which had previously been broken into by forcing the locks and doors.
Archimandrite Ioustinos, longtime keeper of Jacob's Well, dies in Jordan
Archimandrite Ioustinos (Mamallos), the keeper of Jacob's Well in Nablus, has died after a prolonged illness.
Pilgrim group from Kyiv Theological Seminary visits Mount Athos
KTS students are making a pilgrimage to the holy sites of Romania, Greece, Mount Athos and Italy.
UOC cathedral celebrates its patronal feast in Ternopil
The service in the cathedral of the Holy Martyrs Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia was led by Metropolitan Serhii of Ternopil, concelebrated by four hierarchs.
MinCulture marks centenary of Soviet-era reserve at Lavra's Refectory Church
Representatives of the Ministry of Culture presented awards to the Reserve's employees on the occasion of the anniversary at the Refectory Church of the Lavra.
Conference to mark 1700th anniversary of Christianity adoption held in Georgia
In Georgia, representatives of the Church and the state noted the defining role of Christianity in the country's cultural development.