OCU supporters try to enter UOC church in Stara Chortoryia

Holy Trinity Church of the UOC in the village of Stara Chortoryia. Photo: travels.in.ua

OCU supporters staged a provocation outside Holy Trinity Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the village of Stara Chortoryia, Zhytomyr Region.

Supporters of Dumenko’s structure attempted to enter the church grounds. One of them tried to climb over the fence, but UOC believers prevented him from doing so.

This was not the first provocation at Holy Trinity Church in the village. Earlier, activists exploited the religious feelings of the family of fallen serviceman Ivan Tarasov in an effort to stir up conflict. Kateryna Nakonechna demanded that OCU clergy be allowed to conduct the funeral service inside the UOC church. Parish rector Archpriest Tarasiy Havryliv offered either to conduct the funeral himself or to allow OCU clergy to hold prayers in their own premises.

Immediately afterward, OCU supporters spread a false claim online that the church doors had been locked to the fallen serviceman. During the funeral, Kateryna Nakonechna openly urged local residents to seize the church. On June 4, activists held a meeting at the local cultural center attended by outsiders and began collecting signatures door to door. They are now using those signatures as the basis for their attempt to take control of the church.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that OCU “bishop” Paisiy Kukharchuk presented members of the “initiative group” with a certificate stating that the UOC community in Stara Chortoryia had been admitted into his structure.

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