In Gribovitsa a UOC priest evicted from the house he is registered in

Gribovitsa village council demands that the UOC priest be evicted from the house he is registered in. it is reported by the UOJ correspondent.

Archpriest Igor Margita, a clergyman of the Holy Protection Church of the UOC of Gribovitsa village, Volyn region, received a letter of recommendation from the village council, in which the priest was asked to "vacate" the house, leaving it with his family.

The outgoing document of the executive committee of the Gribovitsa village council of Ivanychiv district of Volyn region is dated July 27. As it became known, not long before the village council was going to the session, however, the "church" issue was not on the agenda. In accordance with the text of the document, the priest was informed that he was "obliged" before August 4, 2017, to vacate the premises, where he had been living with his family for about 20 years, being registered at this address.

Archpriest Igor Margita consulted with lawyers and law enforcers, and he was advised, in case of an attempt by local authorities to evict his family, to call the police: there is an attempt at arbitrariness, as such decisions are taken exclusively in the courts. In a message from the village council there is no reference to any article of the law: the authors gave only the presence of other real estate in the family as an argument.

According to Igor Margita, on October 9, 2017, a court session is to be held, in which they will consider his lawsuit against Gribovitsa village council, which does not provide the priest with legal documents for registering the title to the land plot under the church house. Living in it for over 10 years, he has the right to privatize this property, like all other citizens.

It is possible that it was the approach of this date that prompted representatives of the local authorities to intensify their attempts to drive out the priest of the UOC from the village. The previous action with the settling of a troubled family of immigrants next to the priest’s house failed: these people have already moved to another, temporarily free house.

On December 6, 2015, several priests and about 50 supporters of the Kyiv Patriarchate tore off the seals from the doors of the temple, after which they hung their locks on the building. On January 21 of this year, the Appeal Court of Volyn region ordered the law enforcement agencies to resume the case on the obstruction of performing the religious ceremony and illegal repossession of the religious shrine.

Since September 20, 2015, and to this day, the paralyzed parish of the UOC has been praying in the house where the senior priest's family lives, and is trying to find a way out of the conflict with fellow villagers. However, the events at the decisive session showed the counterpart having taken over the temple of the UOC community is intractable.