Former military raider donates land for new church in Rivne Region

UOC temple seizure in the village of Ivanychy, Rivne region. Photo: UOJ

A serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), who previously took part in the seizure of a UOC temple in the Dubno district of the Rivne region, has repented and donated his land for the construction of a new church to the church community. This was revealed in an interview with the YouTube channel "Tetiana Tsaruk. In Search of Truth" by the secretary of the Rivne eparchy of the UOC, Archpriest Viktor Zemlianoy.

"He participated in the church raid, then became disillusioned with his actions when he experienced different conditions," said Father Viktor. "Now, in a sign of repentance, he has given the community a plot of land – 50 acres – for us to build a church."

According to the priest, cases where participants in the seizure of holy places repent for their actions are not uncommon.

"I know those who have come back from the war, returned to our temple and repented," Father Viktor said.

He noted that mainly representatives of territorial defense (militarized volunteer formations of territorial communities) are involved in church raiding, individuals who did not participate in combat actions on the front lines.

"He hasn't been in the trench yet, but he's already been given a grenade, a rifle, a mask, and he decided to 'fight.' A victim of TSN propaganda. In the majority, those guys who were actually on the front lines will never go and seize temples," emphasized the priest.

As it was previously reported, on October 19, 2023, a new church built by the UOC community was consecrated in the village of Povcha in the Rivne region, whose church was seized by supporters of the OCU in 2019.

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