UOC believer speaks of closure of church after attempted raider seizure
Lyudmila, a parishioner of the UOC from the Zhytomyr Eparchy during the prayer standing near the Verkhovna Rada on June 15, 2021. Photo: a video screenshot from the page of the UOC Information Centre on Facebook
The believer from the Zhytomyr Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, during the prayer standing under the walls of the Verkhovna Rada on June 15, 2021, told NTN TV channel reporters how anti-church laws provoked the closure of the church in her village and caused confrontation among her fellow villagers. The video with the story of the parishioner was published on its Facebook page by the UOC Information Centre.
The UOC believer Lyudmila said that there was an attempted seizure of the temple by OCU raiders in her village. The schismatics did not take possession of the temple, but due to conflicts, it had to be closed and defended already in the courts. Conflicts on religious grounds began among the inhabitants of the village in the Zhytomyr region, which negatively affected relationships even within families.
At the same time, the OCU activists do not stop trying to provoke conflicts near the church of the UOC itself. “After an unsuccessful seizure attempt, our church is closed. Lawsuits are underway, a criminal case has been opened. In the village, everyone quarreled: relatives, families, godparents, many do not greet, there are new provocations of conflicts under the walls of churches,” said Lyudmila.
On June 15, 20,000 believers of the UOC held the prayer standing near the Verkhovna Rada, where they handed over two bills in defence of the UOC, and also made a cross procession to the Office of President.
On the same day, President Vladimir Zelensky, speaking at the All-Ukrainian Forum “Ukraine.30”, commented on the prayer standing of the UOC believers near the Verkhovna Rada with the words “Something is wrong in the Church again”, confusing it with the rally of the OPZZh.
As reported, we demand the implementation of the Constitution in relation to the UOC, said Archbishop Nikolai (Pochtovyi) of Vasylkiv during the prayer standing at the walls of the Verkhovna Rada.
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