HEAD OF COUNCIL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS CONDEMNS SEIZURE OF MOSCOW PATRIARCHATE CHURCH IN UKRAINE
Interfax-Religiia, 10 March 2015
The presidential Council for Human Rights is disturbed by the forcible seizure of a church building of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow patriarchate in Rovno province of Ukraine.
"The council is disturbed by the report of the seizure of a church building in Rovno province. We consider to be absolutely impermissible the use of violent means for handling internal church issues," the head of the Council for Human Rights, Mikhail Fedotov, told Interfax.
"Religious communities should be independent. This pertains not only to Ukraine but also to any country. Religious freedom is a universal value," he declared.
As the news agency's interlocutor stressed, any question may be resolved by means of dialogue, theological discussion, and scholarly dispute, "but not with the help of force."
As reported, a few days ago representatives of the self-proclaimed Kiev patriarchate committed a seizure by force of the church of Saint Paraskeva in the village of Chudnitsa in Rovno province of Ukraine.
According to reports from UPTs, a group of men,
some of whom were in a state of alcoholic intoxication, insulted
parishioners and did not let them perform the liturgy. The
perpetrators beat women who rose to the defense of the church and
they sawed off the locks with grinders and commandeered the
building. (tr. by PDS, posted 10 March 2015)
Background article:
Moscow
reports another church attack in Ukraine
March 6, 2015
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