Seized church of UOC in Verkhovyna declared property of village council
The Anna-Zachatievsky Church (St. Anne’s Conception Church) of the UOC seized in Verkhovyna. Photo: gk-press.if.ua
On March 9, two days after the seizure of the Anna-Zachatievsky Church (St. Anne’s Conception Church) of the UOC in the village of Verkhovyna, Ivano-Frankivsk region, armed people came to the church and demanded that the temple be reregistered to the village council, reports the Chernivtsi-Bukovyna Eparchy on its Facebook page.
Masked men with machine guns drove the parishioners of the temple out of the administrative building, without letting them get dressed, forced them to line up and began to rewrite the names of believers, threatening to send them to the border with Russia. Then the armed men demanded that the headman of the community transfer the temple to the property of the village council.
The Chernivtsi-Bukovina Eparchy noted that the video shows the territorial defence forces of the Verkhovyna region.
“The first Lent week services are not performed in the churches of the UOC. People are afraid to go to the temple because they may not come back. Everyone is praying at home, in private,” reports the eparchy.
As the UOJ wrote, the authorities of the Ivano-Frankivsk region take away churches from UOC believers and then call on them to join the OCU.
Read also
Radicals gun down dozens of Christians in Nigeria on Palm Sunday
In Nigeria’s Plateau State, coordinated attacks left believers dead after they became targets of what observers describe as deliberate terror during a religious holiday.
Exclusive: Phanar Archons raise funds to fight “Putin’s threat” in America
An internal letter from the Order of the Archons brands one American Orthodox organization a “pro-Moscow group” and accuses the Serbian Church, the OCA, and ROCOR of being under Moscow’s control.
Sumy Eparchy holds charity concert for children with cancer
As part of the campaign “Bright Deeds for the Bright Day!”, a creative evening was held to raise funds for the treatment of children with cancer in the Sumy region.
KDAiS publishes book on history of Ukrainian Orthodox Church
The Kyiv Theological Academy has released an updated survey of the more than 1,000-year path of the Ukrainian Church.
Former chief administrator suspended from ministry in UOC-KP
If Matsurak does not repent, he will be defrocked by the Kyiv Patriarchate.
Khust Eparchy asks for help for priest facing eviction from his home
The rector of the parish, along with his minor children, is being threatened with the loss of his home through court proceedings.