Konotop mayor bans UOC in city because of 'threat to national security'
Konotop mayor Artem Semenikhin, who represents the nationalist party VO Svoboda, has issued an order banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the city, which, in his opinion, "threatens national security". Order No. 124-OD of 3 May 2022 was published by Semenikhin on his Facebook page.
In it, the official claims that the ban on the UOC was adopted in order to "consolidate society" and "prevent the Konotop community from splitting on religious grounds". The "Svoboda" member retained control over the implementation of the order.
In April 2020, Artem Semenikhin ordered to dig up the roads around the UOC churches, cut off their electricity and water, and terminate their rental contracts.
As reported, Obukhiv district authorities called for banning the UOC.
Read also
In Konotop, UOC church and eparchial administration damaged by shelling
A blast wave shattered the windows and damaged the domes and buildings on the territory of the All Saints parish and the administration of the Konotop Eparchy.
In Ukraine, new cases of church destruction recorded over government inaction
Against the backdrop of Ukrainian authorities’ statements about the confiscation of churches, the condition of the holy sites points to the Ministry of Culture’s inaction and the loss of cultural heritage.
In Horodylets village, TRC abducts UOC church rector
In the Volyn region, after a UOC priest was detained by TRC officers, the religious community was left without the priest's spiritual care.
OCU “hierarch” dismissed for selling draft dodgers fake clergy IDs
The OCU synod sent Kyrylo Mykhailyuk to a monastery for his involvement in fraudulent schemes.
TRC-abducted monk from UOC Rivne Eparchy sent to military unit
After being detained, the UOC monk underwent a military medical board, was deemed fit with restrictions, and was sent to a support unit in Rivne Region.
Khmelnytskyi court hands Letychiv UOC church to fictitious OCU community
The Khmelnytskyi Court of Appeal overturned the first-instance ruling and rejected the UOC rector’s lawsuit seeking access to the church and property that had been re-registered to the OCU.