Brave female UOC believers thwart OCU from raiding their church
Attempted seizure of the St. Nicholas Church of the UOC in the village of Zapadnytsi on April 6, 2024. Photo: UOJ collage
On April 6, 2024, an attempt was made to seize the St. Nicholas Church in the village of Zapadnytsi in the Khmelnytskyi district of the Khmelnytskyi region. Brave parishioners were able to confront local activists led by the village elder Valentyna Konstantyn, a cleric of the OCU, and individuals in military attire. Video footage from the scene was published in the Khmelnytskyi Eparchy's Telegram channel.
The attempt to seize the church was made in the presence of the police.
"There is the police," the cleric of the OCU pointed out to the law enforcement officers, attempting to enter the Orthodox sanctuary.
"Let there be police, step over me and you can enter. Wipe your feet on me, cut me, I will not leave from here," replied the women.
Despite insults and threats, courageous believers remained by their church and did not allow the intruders to break into it, kneeling in front of its door.
"May you burn in hell, you scumbags!" exclaimed a man in military attire. "If it were up to me, I would have incarcerated all of you in your old age."
Earlier, on November 7, 2023, the Krasyliv City Council posted a message online about the alleged transition of a religious community to the OCU. The Khmelnytskyi Eparchy denied this information, stating that no decisions regarding changes in affiliation had been made by the canonical Orthodox community in matters of faith and organization.
As reported by the UOJ, the Khmelnytskyi Eparchy of the UOC refuted information about the "transition" of 300 communities to the OCU.
Read also
Israel’s Yad Vashem head added to Myrotvorets for criticizing OUN-M leader
The head of the Holocaust memorial complex Dani Dayan was added to the Myrotvorets database after condemning the state reburial in Kyiv of OUN-M leader Andriy Melnyk.
Priest at Lavra prayer vigil: a monastery cannot be a museum or a club
During a prayer vigil outside the closed Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a priest reminded the faithful that holy sites must not be turned into a “museum” or a “club of interests.”
UOC priests hold funeral service for victims of missile strike on Dnipro
In the village of Lychkove, clergy and residents said farewell to two young men killed in a Russian strike on Dnipro.
UOC-KP creates "vicariate" in Cyprus
“Patriarch” Nikodym has received several clerics defrocked by the Orthodox Church of Cyprus and established his own structure on the island.
Romania glorifies saint from Chernivtsi region who survived Soviet camps
Blandina of Iași, a Bukovyna native canonized by the Romanian Church, survived Siberian exile, refused to renounce Christ, and served until the end of her life at the relics of St. Paraskeva.
Zakarpattia emergency service chief makes subordinate wear kippah at line-up
Jewish representatives have accused the head of the Zakarpattia regional emergency service of insulting actions toward a newly appointed deputy during an official staff meeting.