Vote at stadium: in Khmelnytskyi another church transferred to OCU

On May 19, 2022, the residents of the microdistrict of Leznevo in Khmelnytskyi gathered at the kindergarten stadium "Sokolenok", where they decided to transfer the Intercession Church to the OCU. As reported on podillyanews.com, the meeting was organized by the head of the Khmelnytskyi district council, Alexander Chernievich, and city council deputy Sergei Manziuk. Manziuk told the audience that the local residents have been asking him since 2014 to transfer the Intercession Church to the Kyiv Patriarchate.

Archpriest Michael Kozovoy, the dean of Khmelnytskyi, told the UOJ that the organizers elected a "parish council of the religious community" from among residents who had never attended the church and held a vote for the transfer to the OCU. Everyone present at the stadium registered their passports (there were 454 people), and everyone put his/her signature under the protocol of the meeting.

The real parishioners of the church did not participate in these "elections", called them a "disgrace" and accusations against the UOC – a lie. After these words, the gathering behaved aggressively, and the believers returned to the church, where they prayed and sang the akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos while the officials transferred the community to the OCU.

"The whole event was organized according to the same scenario as in the microdistrict of Ruzhichna, and it was led by the same people," explained Father Michael and added that the meeting was attended by a lawyer of the Khmelnytskyi Eparchy, who was not given the floor.

The residents of the Ruzhichna microdistrict in Khmelnytskyi, under the guidance of the city authorities, transferred the community of the Assumption Church to the OCU. After this, the rector of the church, Archpriest Vladimir Zayats, filed a complaint with the police, which opened a criminal case for the seizure of assets of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

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