SCHISMATICS WITH RIGHT SECTOR TRY TO TAKE AWAY
YET ANOTHER CHURCH IN WEST UKRAINE
Interfax-Religiia,
6 October 2015
Representatives of the self-proclaimed Kiev
patriarchate and Right Sector are putting pressure on the parish
of the Orthodox church of the Nativity of the Mother of God in
the village of Duliby of Rovno province in Ukraine.
Last Saturday, unidentified men demanded of
the warden that he surrender to them keys to the church,
threatening to beat him. Believers who came running at the shout
prevented their intentions, but then on the next day priests of
the Kiev patriarchate, led by the dean of Goshchansk region, who
is the brother of the chairman of the village council, Lesa
Mironchuk, came to the church, the press service of the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church reported on Tuesday.
Having previously foreseen the development of
events, the schismatics insured that they would be accompanied
by representatives of the Goshchansk district police department
and militants of the Right Sector," the report says.
The parish, led by the rector, Archpriest
Sergei Timofeev, was praying on the steps of the church. The
schismatics arranged themselves alongside, trying to drown out
the voices of the believers with their singing. Militants of the
Right Sector began provoking verbal exchanges and then a brawl,
during which they tried to throw the rector of the church from
the stairway. In the end, L. Mironchuk sealed the church
building.
The UPTs confirms that back in July 2015 L.
Mironchuk took possession of the official documents of the
parish, declaring that she wants to help it get new documents
for the church. However several days later, at a session of the
village council, she raised the question of transferring the
church of the Nativity of the Mother of God to the Kiev
patriarchate.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday in Rovno a meeting of
clergy of the Rovno diocese was held with representatives of a
special monitoring mission of OSCE in Ukraine. An observer of
the mission, Mauritsio Montipo, was given materials and video
evidence of the violations of the rights of UPTs parishes in
Ternopol and Rovno provinces. The observers also were told about
"continuing illegal demands on the part of representatives of
the Kiev patriarchate to move to alternating use of churches
that already are owned by UPTs parishes."
"Unfortunately, such suggestions by the Kiev
patriarchate are more often being supported by some
representatives of governmental agencies, especially in
connection with the approaching elections," the report says.
Believers also conducted a collection of
signatures on the Internet under a petition to the president of
Ukraine with the demand to take measures for stopping
provoctions against the UPTs. The collection of signatures began
on 30 September and will continue for 90 days. (tr. by PDS,
posted 6 October 2015)
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