Rector of raided UOC church in Bortnychi returns from frontline

Fr Alexy Hodun (far left), rector of the Intercession Church of the UOC in Bortnychi, with other military priests of the UOC. Photo: Telegram-channel "Myriany"

Archpriest Alexy Hodun, rector of the raided Intercession Church of the UOC in Kyiv's Bortnychi district, has recently returned from the combat zone, where he evacuated wounded Ukrainian soldiers, reports Telegram-channel "Myriany".

The medical unit of the Military Department of the UOC, in which Father Alexy carried out a humanitarian mission, took out about 90 wounded and dead soldiers from the battlefield for a fortnight.

The channel notes that the clerics of the Intercession Church are constantly collecting and delivering aid to the front lines for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

"Any reproaches about a "wrong" priest or a parish, or about the "pro-Moscow Church" are cynical lies, hypocrisy, as well as incitement of interfaith hatred," the message emphasises.

As reported, on 5 September 2023, a group of militants of the organisation "Brotherhood" led by the OCU "priest" Vitaly Matiyashchuk cut the locks and seized the temple of the UOC in Bortnychi. The raiders claim that the community of the temple favours "the Russian army".

Earlier, the Military Department of the UOC raised funds for the purchase of another vehicle for the evacuation of wounded soldiers from the frontline.

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