Press secretary of Vinnytsia Eparchy: RSA official violates court decision

Deacon Andrei Balan. Photo: NASH TV channel

The decisions of the head of the Department for Religions and Nationalities of the Vinnytsia Regional State Administration Igor Saletsky on the illegal re-registration of communities provoke new seizures of churches.

The press secretary of the Vinnytsia Eparchy, Deacon Andrei Balan, spoke about this, commenting for the NASH TV channel on the reasons that forced the Vinnytsia believers to stand in prayer before the building of the regional administration.

“The last straw was that in the Murovani Kurylivtsi Deanery of our Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Mohyliv-Podilsky Eparchy, Saletsky decided to re-register another village of Snitkiv. The Administrative Court of Kyiv dated July 30, 2021, forbade him to carry out any registration actions in those specific villages. Igor Saletsky is a person who ignores the decision of the court, ignores the requests of people on the ground. This is a problem not only for our Vinnytsia Eparchy, but today it is a painful wound for the entire region. Only in the Vinnytsia Eparchy, 25 churches were illegally re-registered, in the Tulchin Eparchy – 14, the same number in Mohyliv-Podilsky. More than 40 churches were re-registered in the Vinnytsia region by this person. The main thing is that he considers the minutes of the meeting of the villagers rather than the religious community. People, our believers, do not want to change their subordination.”

According to Deacon Andrei Balan, believers have repeatedly conveyed their demands to the authorities, but they have not been heard.

“We want peace both here and in our country, we want peace ... But we cannot understand why the administration cannot change its official. We wouldn't come here if everything was fine. People want to come here. It’s not we who call them – they ask us: when will the inaction of the authorities change?"

In the future, if there are no changes, prayer meetings can be prepared in advance and be much more numerous.

The UOJ spoke in detail about the reason and the course of the prayer standing near the Vinnytsia Regional State Administration.

Read also

Sand for construction of Yermak’s residence brought from cemetery, MP says

MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak said that sand illegally removed from a cemetery in Ukrainka was used in the construction of the elite Dynasty cooperative in Kozyn.

Italian court recognizes family with three parents as legal

In Bari, the appellate court ordered authorities to register an adoption according to which a child is listed as having two "fathers" and one mother.

Archaeologists discover biblical Bethsaida on shore of Sea of Galilee

Researchers have discovered a first-century residential house beneath the apse of a Byzantine church and a mosaic inscription mentioning the Apostle Peter.

Israeli soldiers receive jail terms for mocking statue of the Virgin Mary

Those involved in the act of sacrilege in the village of Debel will spend several weeks behind bars for desecrating a statue of the Mother of God.

Serbian Church officially receives back land of 15th-century monastery

An agreement was signed in Belgrade transferring the territory of the ancient Vojlovica Monastery to the Banat Eparchy.

Pat Daniel comments on conflict between Phanar bishop and community in Turkey

The Bulgarian Primate believes that the hierarch of the Constantinople Patriarchate should not have forced the Bulgarian community in Edirne to serve in Greek.