In Pishchane, OCU raiders stage a rally in UOC church during the service

Provocation of supporters of the OCU in the UOC temple in Pishchane village. Photo: telegraf.in.ua

On September 3, 2023, a group of men with athletic builds stormed the Assumption Church of the UOC in the village of Pishchane in the Poltava region at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy, interrupting the service and staging a rally demanding the transfer of the parish to the OCU. This was reported by the press service of the Kremenchuh Eparchy of the UOC.

The provocation mainly involved residents of the neighboring Kirovohrad region, in particular, residents of the Vlasovka settlement. According to preliminary information, they were employees of the "Korolivsky Smak" enterprise, whose management organized this action.

The "activists" were accompanied by a film crew from the "5 Kanal" TV channel.

The newcomers behaved very aggressively. They brought banners with political slogans, insulted the priest and parishioners, used obscene language. The raiders organized a "vote" for the "transition" of the church to the OCU and then declared that they would submit their "decision" on changing the jurisdiction of the parish to the authorities.

After leaving the church, supporters of the OCU continued to rally in the churchyard.

Earlier, the community of the Assumption Church declared its loyalty to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

As reported by the UOJ, on September 5, 2023, a group of raiders, led by "priest" Vitaliy Matiyashchuk from the OCU, cut locks and seized a UOC church in the Bortnychi micro-district of Kyiv.

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