OCU holds "service" in raided church, protected by machine gunners in Irpin

Police officers armed with machine guns at the seized Trinity Church in Irpin. Photo: UOJ

On December 6, 2023, representatives of the OCU organized their first "liturgy" in the Holy Trinity Church, which was taken from the community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, in the city of Irpin near Kyiv, according to the UOJ correspondent.

Before the start of the "worship," the newly appointed "rector," Yaroslav Yashchuk, informed local media journalists that the authorities had already re-registered the parish to the OCU.

During the "service," four police officers armed with automatic rifles were on duty in the churchyard, and police and city communal service "Municipal Guard" vehicles were parked at the gates.

As reported by the UOJ, on October 25, 2023, a raiding meeting organized by local authorities took place in the building of the Irpin City Council. Participants voted for the "transition" of the Holy Trinity Church to the OCU. The clergy and parishioners were not allowed into the hall where the voting took place. After that, people in camouflage and police officers approached the church, drove out the believers, and closed the sanctuary. Later, it became known that, at the mayor's order, the Municipal Guard "took custody" of the church.

On November 2, at a session of the city council, the head of the Department of Culture, Nationalities, and Religions, Yevheniia Antoniuk, initiated the creation of a "historical and cultural reserve" on the territory of the Holy Trinity Church, built in 1915.

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