"They're mocking us": Storozhynets community seeks help from USA and Romania

St. George’s Community in Storozhynets. Photo: Pershyi Kozatskyi

The Storozhynets Deanery of the Chernivtsi-Bukovyna Diocese of the UOC has sent a letter to the SBU, the Romanian Consulate, and the U.S. Embassy requesting protection of their rights, reports Pershyi Kozatskyi.

The reason for the appeal was the plans of OCU representatives to falsify documents and seize the deanery’s churches.

In their appeal, the believers emphasized that activists supporting Epiphanius Dumenko are deliberately inciting hostility and stirring up hatred in the city. "They spread appeals aimed at discrediting religious communities, insult the religious feelings of believers, and attempt to create conditions in which parishioners will be deprived of the opportunity to worship in their churches," the letter states.

The believers are particularly concerned about the support and silent consent of law enforcement agencies in these processes. OCU clergy, including Roman Hryshchuk, Ioan Skipor, Petro Andriichuk, Mykhailo Smoliak, and others, are openly leading a campaign of hatred.

The letter also notes that pressure on the religious community is being initiated by the heads of the local Intensive Care Hospital – chief physician Oleksandr Voitsekhovskyi and deputy medical director Vasyl Paliy – who are using their official positions to coerce subordinates into supporting the transfer of churches to the OCU.

"In state institutions, schools, and kindergartens, a policy is openly conducted that directly forbids attending the churches of our religious parishes. Employees are intimidated with dismissal, forced to support the seizure of churches, and threatened with job loss if they disagree with this position or resist, which constitutes a gross violation of labor rights and freedom of conscience," the letter emphasizes.

The believers point out that such processes are happening everywhere, and the impunity of the raiders allows them to continue their terror. The appeal also describes the extensive charitable work and care for those in need carried out by UOC parishes.

"We cannot remain silent when we are being mocked, when they try to deprive us of the right to pray in our faith, in our church, and in our language," the believers declare. They ask that this information be conveyed to foreign governments to prevent illegal actions and protect the rights of Orthodox Christians.

The authors of the letter reserve the right to inform the international community about the development of events and the need for assistance in ensuring the rights of Christians in light of bans on practicing the Christian faith.

As a reminder, the UOC community in Dubivtsi has appealed to the U.S. government due to the threat of church seizure.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that in Pidzakharychi, UOC believers reached out to J. D. Vance on the eve of an OCU raid on their church.

Read also