UOC parishioners at Kyiv’s Demiivka church defend their rights in court

Believers of the UOC Ascension Church in Kyiv. Photo: t.me/Kyiv_metropolis

The rector of the Ascension Church in Kyiv’s Demiivka district has spoken about an ongoing court case involving the parish amid an attempted church seizure by representatives of the OCU. Archpriest Pavel Kirillov reported this on the Kyiv Metropolia’s Telegram channel.

According to the priest, litigation over the church is continuing over the alleged falsification of documents concerning the parish. Despite this, the community continues its normal parish life: regular services are held, a social ministry and assistance center for displaced people and those in need are operating, and work with Orthodox youth continues. Fr. Pavel also highlighted the activities of the Parasolka youth movement.

The rector stressed that parishioners remain firm in their Orthodox position and intend to remain within the Ukrainian Orthodox Church while defending their church through legal means. The second court hearing in the Ascension Church case is scheduled for September 14.

The parish and its rector asked believers for prayerful support – both for the community itself and for the lawyers representing its interests in court.

As the UOJ previously reported, it earlier emerged that information about the head of the religious community had been unlawfully changed. Instead of the lawful rector of the Ascension Church, Archpriest Pavel Kirillov, the register now lists Taras Ivanovych Pikus as the new head. According to available information, he is a student at the OCU’s Kyiv Orthodox Theological Academy and is not ordained.

On July 28, state registrars made changes to the Unified State Register concerning the religious community of the church in Demiivka. Officials changed the parish’s affiliation from the UOC to the OCU, altered information about its governing bodies and registered address, and registered a new version of its charter.

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