OCU supporters stage provocation at soldier’s funeral in Polytsi
Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos in Polytsi. Photo: Avers
In the village of Polytsi in the Volyn region, OCU activists staged a provocation against the priest and community of the UOC Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos. According to a report by local TV channel Avers, the relatives of fallen serviceman Oleksandr Oliferchuk are OCU supporters, but instead of holding the funeral service at their own premises, they demanded that an OCU cleric conduct it inside the UOC church.
To this end, they approached the rector with an ultimatum, demanding that he allow clerics of Epifaniy Dumenko’s structure into the church. The rector replied that he was prepared to conduct the funeral service for the fallen serviceman himself but would not allow OCU clerics inside.
The priest’s caution stemmed from repeated incidents in which OCU activists and clerics, after being allowed into UOC churches, caused disturbances, staged provocations, incited local residents, and used the situation as a pretext for subsequent raider seizures.
As a result, OCU supporters and their clerics conducted the service in the churchyard, declining an offer to hold it at their own premises. A cousin of the fallen serviceman said the relatives had tried to stir up hostility among local residents, but the villagers did not respond to the provocative appeals.
As the UOJ previously reported, UOC Deacon Andrii Hlushchenko described similar incidents as part of what he called an OCU strategy to discredit the UOC. According to him, OCU clerics make arrangements with the relatives of fallen servicemen and bring the bodies not to their own premises but to UOC churches, where they issue ultimatums demanding the right to conduct the funeral service. When refused, they use the rejection as grounds for public scandals and accusations.
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