Kyiv Patriarchate Made a Raider Seizure of the Church in Ptycha Village

In a small village of Ptycha in Rivne region, it has nearly been a year since ongoing sectarian strife started. Religious communities of the UOC and the UOC-KP cannot share the right of ownership of an Orthodox church. Although in case of Ptycha village it’s not probably quite appropriate to call the situation the division of property.

After all, legal rights to the church in Ptycha belong to the UOC community. Although representatives of the Kiev Patriarchate have repeatedly tried to prove their right to the religious building, their authority lies outside the legal field. All lawsuits of the UOV-KP against the UOC communities were rejected, and the religious building legally (since the 90's) belongs to the Orthodox believers of Ptycha village. In addition, the fact that the side encroaching on the Orthodox property was registered as a religious community of the Kyiv Patriarchate only a year ago gives a special satirical coloring to the situation. 

And now it’s a year since the church was locked, and there seems to be no end to continuing courts and unconcealed hostility among countrymen. On 1 November came the so-called Day X. Representatives of the religious community of the Kyiv Patriarchate took possession of the keys to the church thanks to the village head, who kept the keys of the sealed building. In his opinion, it must be the priests who should reconcile villagers, and he should take a looker-on position. But the policy of non-interference has played a rather tricky joke with the representative of the rural community. The followers of the KP, who secured the key to the church, committed illegal actions - without court permission and having no ownership right, they unlocked the building and intruded into the sanctuary. In such a barbaric manner was seized another church, which by law belongs to the UOC. 

 The believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church protested against the intrusion blocking the road near the church. Thus, according to Father John, a responsible representative for the security of interfaith relations and protection of the rights of Orthodox believers in Dubno region, I-st Dubno deanery, the faithful tried to attract the attention of local authorities to the existing religious issue. But the state officials, who came to the church doorsteps, could not affect the unlawful actions of the UOC-KP followers.

 According to the UOC believers, most officials privately take the side of the Kyiv Patriarchate, so there is little hope for their assistance or objective assessment of the situation. The law enforcement officials who arrived in Ptycha didn’t even want to take a statement from the parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that that the premise of their legitimate sanctuary had been invaded by outsiders and proclaimed their own possession. However, at the end of the day, the two parties agreed to meet at the round table with the authorities for negotiation. 

 The talks were to be held at 14.00, 2 October, at Dubno district state administration. In the negotiations took part the following officials: the head of the RSA Parfeniuk Y. V., the chairman of the district council Kozak O.V., the head of the RA UMIA Mykhalko L.M, the secretary of the Rivne diocese of the UOC, Archpriest Vitaly Herlinsky, the acting dean of the UOC, Archpriest Anatoly Bohdanov and the senior priest of the newly established community of the Kyiv Patriarchate in the village of Ptycha Ihor Zahrebelny. However, being fully authorized, the negotiating sides failed to achieve a consensus. 

 Journalists were not allowed in, and those representatives who left the hall were not too talkative, and sometimes even aggressive. But it’s not essential. The main problem is that the legitimate owners of the religious building failed to get the representatives of the KP religious communities to lock the church and return the keys before the court ruling. The authorities, in particular the head of RSA Parfeniuk Y. V., see the temporary solution in introduction of alternate service in the church before the court makes its decision. To follow it those who lose the court will build a new church for their believers. 

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