RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS


 

Conflict over church building in western Ukraine simmers

DURING PASSION WEEK, SCHISMATICS ONCE AGAIN ATTEMPT TO SEIZE CHURCH IN PTICHIA

Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, 9 April 2015

 

On 8 April, on Passion Wednesday, when the Orthodox Church recalls in sorrow the insidious betrayal of the Savior by Judas, unidentified persons sawed the locks on the doors of the Holy Dormition church in the village of Ptichia of Rovno province. After this, the church was taken over by representatives of the "Kiev patriarchate," which is not recognized by world Orthodoxy.

 

The conflict surrounding the church building in Ptichia has dragged on since last year. It began after provocateurs in the village performed an imitation of a pseudo-referendum regarding a change in the jurisdiction of the church parish. Back in the winter, schismatics several times conducted attempts at a violent seizure of the village church. To do this, they registered a so-called clone parish in the village with the same name, only in subordination to the Kiev patriarchate. However Orthodox residents of Ptichia defended their church, despite the inaction of law enforcement agencies. In order to avoid violent provocations, they agreed to seal the church for a time until a final judicial decision was rendered. After all, the UPTs parish has the fully established right to the church premises and also a state certification of the right to use the land for its needs. At the present time, a court decision about removing hindrances for the use of the church by the UPTs parish has still not been received. In addition, the court has not considered the question of the cancellation of state certifications of the right of ownership, because in this case the totalitarian Leninist practice of taking land from some and giving it to others might be repeated.

 

In the winter, when the first attempts were made in Ptichia to grossly violate the law on freedom of conscience, believers turned to all governmental instances of the Rovno region. However, local authorities lobbied in every way for the interests of the schismatics and ignored the demands of UPTs believers not to deprive them of their constitutional right to worship in their own church by forceful liquidation of their parish. Not finding justice from officials, believing people of Ptichia resorted to an unprecedented action of peaceful protest: they blocked the Kiev-Chop highway. And although the police roughed up the old ladies brutally, all of Ukraine then learned about them and the illegal actions of the schismatics were brought to a halt for some time.

 

It is necessary to recall that the Kiev patriarchate has shown once again in the case of the church in Ptichia that all the talk of its leaders about the peaceful unification of Ukrainian Orthodoxy for the unity of Ukraine is supreme blasphemy. After all the Rovno schismatics made this attempt at violent seizure of this church just two days after the signing of a memorandum in whose fourth point they affirmed:  "All Orthodox churches of Rovno province condemn the inflaming of inter-religious strife and seizure of Orthodox churches of one confession by another." In light of such rapid inflation of promises by the Kiev patriarchate, Metropolitan of Rovno and Ostrog Varfolomei was forced to withdraw his signature from the memorandum and, following him, representative signatories of other confessions did the same.  (tr. by PDS, posted 9 April 2015)


Background articles:
Western Ukrainian Orthodox and Catholics declare unity
November 17, 2014
Moscow church pulls out of Ukrainian unity agreement
November 19, 2014
Pro-Moscow news source undercuts Rovno unity statement
November 20, 2014
Ukrainian nationalists invade pro-Moscow Orthodox church buildings
December 26, 2014


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