Nearly a thousand faithful in Hlyboka vote for loyalty to UOC
935 parishioners of the UOC Protection Church have strongly protested attempts to take away their Orthodox church.
On February 14 at 9:00 AM, a religious meeting of the parish was held in the UOC Protection Church in the town of Hlyboka, Bukovyna. 935 members of the religious community voted to remain within the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry. Later, the faithful voted once again in the town square, where the OCU had organized their rally. A video of the voting was published by the press service of the Chernivtsi Diocese.
It was noted that the voters were indeed parishioners of the Protection Church.
At 3:00 PM, priests and UOC believers, carrying banners, crosses, and icons, held a cross procession to the town’s central square to publicly declare their loyalty to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in front of all those gathered there.
At the same time, on the square, people unrelated to the UOC Protection parish voted on behalf of the community for its transition to the OCU.
Believers were not allowed into this rally by hired security.
After the event, Father Dmytro Dmytrovych addressed all residents of Hlyboka, guests, and observers from the Hlyboka district:
“Brothers and sisters, to those who do not believe that we are the majority! Those who wish to remain in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, let us vote once more! Let all of Hlyboka hear and see!”
As the UOJ previously reported, on February 14 in the town of Hlyboka, Bukovyna, OCU representatives held a meeting during which, according to local media, two UOC religious communities – the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos and the Exaltation of the Holy Cross – were “unanimously transferred” to their structure.
