Rozhny villagers "transfer" UOC community of Nativity of Theotokos to OCU

On August 28, 2022, at a meeting of the territorial community of the village of Rozhny in the Kyiv region (Boryspil Eparchy), the residents, led by OCU "priest" Mykhailo Lesiuk, decided to transfer the local church to the jurisdiction of the OCU, even though the UOC community had voted against the decision a week earlier as Archpriest Oleksandr Kovalevsky, rector of the UOC Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, told the UOJ.

The meeting was held at the local House of Culture. With the blessing of Archpriest Dionisy, the dean of the parish, Father Oleksandr also attended the event. At the meeting, the OCU "priest" called for the seizure of the church and asked the UOC clergyman about the transfer to the OCU.

"I answered firmly and unequivocally: our community held a meeting on August 21, at which it made a unanimous decision – we remain in the bosom of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church," Father Oleksandr noted and added that the community is going to appeal against the illegal meeting of Dumenko's supporters in court.

As of today, the UOC congregation holds services in the Church of the Nativity of Theotokos.

As reported, according to the instruction of the State Service for Ethnopolitics, only a religious community can make a decision on the change of affiliation.

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