TRANSCARPATHIAN PRIEST LOCKED SELF IN CHURCH BUT PARISH STILL TRANSFERRED TO PTsU
Religiia v Ukraine, 5 February 2019
The parish of the church of St. George the Conqueror of the UPTsMP in the village of Yasinya in the Rakhov region of Transcarpathia oblast forced the priest to surrender the keys and it transferred to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (PTsU), Religiia v Ukraine reports, with reference to Ukrinform.ua.
"Yesterday in the settlement of Yasinya in the Rakhov region, the parish of the church of St. George the Conqueror left the Khust diocese of the UPTsMP and supported a transfer to the Transcarpathia diocese of the PTsU. The situation was rather tense. Debates of the parish began at 12:00 and continued until 15:00. The parish supported a transfer by a majority of votes, 70 for and 14 against. But the priest rejected the transfer. The dean from the Khust diocese arrived at the church and also several persons from neighboring villages in support. They barricaded themselves in the altar area and insulted people and did not surrender the keys to the church. In the end, after long negotiations, the priest surrendered the keys after all," the vladyka of the Transcarpathia diocese of the PTsU, Varsonofy, said in an exclusive commentary for Ukrinform.
He said that on 4 February, representatives of the parish were supposed to bring the minutes of the meeting and a declaration to the Transcarpathia diocese of the UPTsMP, where they request their joining the Transcarpathia diocese of the PTsU. "After this I will issue an order and we will appeal to the department of the Transcarpathia state administration for inserting changes into their charter, and the question will then be decided at the legal level," Vladyka Varsonofy said.
The parish of the church of the holy Conqueror is the third parish in Transcarpathia that in the recent months transferred into the PTsU. Now, Vladyka Varsonofy said, another three parishes in Transcarpathia are preparing for transfer into the jurisdiction of the PTsU. (tr. by PDS, posted 5 February 2019)
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