Attempted raid of UOC's St John Church reported in Kyiv’s Bykivnia district

Raiders of the OCU entered the grounds of the UOC’s St John Church in Kyiv. Photo: Dozor

An attempted raider-style takeover of the Holy St John Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is reportedly underway in Kyiv’s Bykivnia district, according to the Dozor Telegram channel.

According to sources cited by the channel, a group of unidentified individuals in camouflage forced their way onto the church grounds, blocked the church, and are preventing the faithful from entering.

Dozor says that on February 13 a group of activists and OCU clergy arrived at the church. They allegedly brought forged documents for the religious community and demanded that the keys to the church be handed over to them. The rector, Archimandrite Pavlo, asked that UOC faithful at least be allowed to serve a memorial service for a fallen soldier – the son of one of the parishioners. Representatives of the OCU reportedly agreed at the time.

However, on February 14, when Orthodox Christians gathered for prayer, cars carrying unidentified individuals arrived at the shrine. According to Dozor, those involved in the takeover cut off the door hinges and began a forceful entry into the premises of the church complex. They reportedly remain on the church grounds at present.

Sources also suggest the increased pressure may be connected with the start of the community’s legal defense. In the course of legal work, they believe, falsification of documents used in an attempted change of jurisdiction may have been uncovered. For this reason, the channel’s interlocutors say, the seizure was carried out on an accelerated basis.

As the UOJ previously reported, the OCU had announced an impending takeover of a UOC cathedra church in Cherkasy.

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