Persecuted community in Rynhach marks Christmas holidays in house church

The persecuted Ascension parish of the UOC in the village of Rynhach. Photo: Chernivtsi Eparchy

In the Bukovynian village of Rynhach, the faithful together with their rector, Mitred Archpriest Serafim Dumytrovych, celebrated the Nativity of Christ and other feasts in a house church. As believers of the Chernivtsi–Bukovyna Eparchy wrote on Facebook, despite being deprived of access to the Ascension church, the community remained faithful to the canonical Church and continued its liturgical life.

Common prayer in the house church, according to parishioners, became for them a source of consolation, hope, and spiritual support, strengthening the faith and unity of the community in difficult circumstances.

The faithful also published a video about parish life after their shrine was seized.

As the UOJ reported, on May 20, 2023, in the village of Rynhach, a group of raiders led by chaplain Roman Hryshchuk forcibly seized the UOC church. At that time the door was broken in, a metal grille was damaged, and inside the church the attackers brutally beat the parish rector, Archpriest Serafim Dumytrovych, causing him bodily injuries. During the attack, the priest’s phone was smashed, and a hard drive containing surveillance-camera recordings that documented what happened was also taken.

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