Police cordon off St. Volodymyr's Cathedral not allowing UOC-KP supporters in
In Kyiv, representatives of the authorities and the OCU blocked the holding of an episcopal assembly at which they were supposed to elect a Locum Tenens after the death of Filaret Denysenko.
A factual raider seizure of UOC-KP property is taking place at St. Volodymyr's Cathedral in Kyiv by police forces and representatives of the OCU, as reported in a video address by UOC-KP "bishop" Nikodim.
According to Nikodim, law enforcement officers have completely cordoned off the building and are not allowing clerics and hierarchs onto the cathedral territory. Representatives of the UOC-KP cite the main aim of these actions as an attempt to block the election of a Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne after Filaret's death. The hierarch claims that Dumenko's supporters, having reached an agreement with the deceased's relatives, have essentially stolen Filaret's body and transported it to St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery.
"They are trying, contrary to his will, his testament, which was signed by the patriarch himself and published on video, to appropriate the body and perform the funeral service," Nikodim stated. According to Filaret's spiritual testament, he requested that he be buried specifically at St. Volodymyr's Cathedral, and the burial rite should to be performed exclusively by UOC-KP hierarchs.
Nikodim reported that the cathedral's rector is also participating in the seizure of the temple, having colluded with OCU representatives, and emphasized that such methods of "unification" are a desecration of the deceased's memory. "You can all see what’s happening: raider takeovers of churches and monasteries, the beating of believers of another confession, which they call the Moscow Patriarchate," the "bishop" stated, noting that although his structure does not share the UOC's stance, it categorically condemns violence. "Unity of the church is not achieved by such methods." Despite the blockade, the UOC-KP declares that their structure "has existed, and will continue to exist."
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that Filaret will be buried at St. Volodymyr's Cathedral.
