Bila Tserkva believers address mayor over attempts to seize UOC cathedral

The Transfiguration Cathedral of the UOC in Bila Tserkva. Photo: vandrivka.com.ua

The Transfiguration Cathedral of the UOC in Bila Tserkva. Photo: vandrivka.com.ua

Parishioners of the Transfiguration Cathedral of the UOC in Bila Tserkva are seeking a meeting with the city mayor, Hennadiy Dykyi, regarding attempts by the city authorities to seize their shrine and transfer it to the OCU. They shared this information in a video appeal published by the press service of the Bila Tserkva Eparchy of the UOC.

The believers recalled that on June 23rd about a hundred parishioners of the cathedral came to the City Council to communicate with the mayor, but the meeting near the mayor's office was very brief, as Dykyi did not listen to them on account of his busy schedule.

According to the believers, the assistants of the city mayor promised to invite them for a conversation and suggested that representatives of the cathedral community submit written appeals to the mayor, secretary, and deputies of the city council, which they did.

"And now we are waiting. If we don't have a meeting with the mayor, we will take action," noted the participants in the video appeal. "We will not stop because illegal actions are taking place in our city. The architectural monument, the Transfiguration Cathedral, was somehow, in violation of the procedure, removed from state ownership and transferred to communal ownership. We want to understand why, on an illegal basis, they are preparing to vote on June 29th to transfer the cathedral, which we have been using for so many years, to some third party."

As reported, earlier the parishioners of the Transfiguration Cathedral called on Bila Tserkva authorities to refrain from considering the issue of transferring the shrine to the OCU during the city council session.

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