Court rules transfer of the UOC community of Verbovets to the OCU illegal

The Kyiv court declared illegal a meeting during which OCU supporters and representatives of the Vinnytsia Regional State Administration organised the transfer of the community of the Church of the Holy Virgin Protection in the village of Verbovets of the Mohyliv-Podilsk Eparchy to the OCU, as reported on the Facebook page of the Nativity of the Theotokos Church in Murovany Kurylivtsi.

The court's decision notes that the meeting was not held by members of the UOC community but by residents of the village of Verbovets.

"The minutes of the meeting on the transfer were drawn up with numerous irregularities, without the necessary signatures and approvals," the statement reads.

The court found the actions of the head of the Vinnytsia Regional State Administration for Religious Affairs, Ihor Saletsky, to be illegal: despite the absence of the necessary documents, he still re-registered the community, changing its jurisdiction.

A year ago, OCU supporters held a meeting of the Verbovets village residents where they transferred the UOC community to Dumenko's structure, after which they violently seized the Intercession Church, threatening in case of resistance to "slaughter like pigs" the UOC faithful.

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