OCU supporters seize UOC Transfiguration Church in Ivankiv

A church seizure in Ivankiv. Photo: news.church.ua

On 13 May 2023, OCU raiders seized the Transfiguration Church of the UOC in the village of Ivankiv, Boryspil district, reports news.church.ua.

Around 6 am, supporters of the OCU cut off the locks on the doors of the Transfiguration Church and illegally entered the church.

Eyewitnesses report that the aggressive individuals on the territory of the church do not allow the parishioners of the UOC there. The head of the Ivankiv district, Oleksandr Kyrychenko, who, according to the local residents, is the main instigator of the seizure of the shrine, was present at the scene. The local police department did not prevent the raiding actions of the OCU activists.

In Ivankiv, supporters of the OCU have been trying to take away the Transfiguration Church from the UOC worshippers since June 5, 2022, when they held a meeting of the territorial community, at which they made an illegal decision to transfer the church to the OCU. At the same time, representatives of the religious community of the Transfiguration Church declared their faithfulness to the canonical UOC. Since then, there has been an ongoing lawsuit over the jurisdictional affiliation of the church, which has not yet been completed.

As earlier reported, the OCU "clerics" in Ivankiv cut off the locks on the UOC church.

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