Kyiv Patriarchate appropriates another church in Volyn

In Volyn Ugrinov, the UOC-KP claimed a church, which has been built by the efforts of the UOC community since 1998, their cemetery chapel. However, supporters of the Kyiv Patriarchate have been only actually engaged in internal works, renewed in the building about a year ago.

On its Facebook page, the Volyn eparchy of the UOC-KP published a photo dated 10 September 2017, when Mikhail (Zinkevich), the "metropolitan" of the Kyiv Patriarchate, "consecrated" the cemetery church. The text states that the UOC-KP "built another church", which is absolutely untrue.

As the rector of the Ugrinov Holy Cross Exaltation Community of the UOC of the Gorokhov Deanery, Archpriest Rostislav Sapozhnik, told the UOJ, the first stone for the construction of the cemetery chapel was laid in 1998. The idea was put forward by the then chairman of the village council Nikolai Parkhomiuk, who still remains a parishioner of the canonical Church. Funds for construction were raised by the community of the UOC. However, the current rector of the community does not know exact funding figure: the church elder was then in charge of finances, without involving the priest.

"It is interesting that in 2005, a few supporters of the UOC-KP in Ugrinov appealed to the authorities, saying that they had to conduct their services in a rural cemetery, which was not true," recalls Archpriest Rostislav. At that time and many years in a row the temple was empty. It was planned to take the deceased there for farewell before burial. However, no one did so, and internal works stopped, even the crosses on the church were not consecrated.

The project of the cemetery church was made free of charge by the then architect of the region Yuri Kazmiruk, who was born in the neighbouring village of Dubovaya Korchma, which is part of the Ugrinov village council.

In 2016, after the appropriation of all the church property of the UOC community by the Kyiv Patriarchate, there were talks in Ugrinov that the building of the cemetery church would be allegedly transferred to the balance of the local agricultural enterprise. It was going to be registered as a memorial house, without any reference to any confession, common to the whole village. According to the locals, the "consecration" of the completed church in the rural cemetery practically did not interest Ugrinov residents.