Ministry of Culture presses UOC community in Ptichya for alternate service
On April 23, the Rovno Regional State Administration tried to reach an agreement with the leadership of the Rovno eparchy of the UOC on alternate services with the Kiev Patriarchate in the village of Ptichya, Dubno district.
As a UOJ correspondent reports, pressure was exerted on the eparchy of the UOC during a visiting session of the Expert Council for Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations of the Department for Religions and Nationalities under the Ministry of Culture.
Earlier, the eparchy received a letter from the Department informing of the forthcoming visiting session, which, among other things, would be devoted to the issues of religious confrontation in Ptichya.
The Rovno eparchy of the UOC, according to the invitation, was represented by six people, among them the vicar Bishop Pimen, the secretary and the press secretary of the eparchy, as well as rectors of the churches where the confessional peace is broken.
As the attendees say, everything came down to talking about the restoration of divine services in Ptichya on the conditions of the Kiev Patriarchate. According to the participants, the region's leaders backed by the director of the Department Andrei Yurash took the position of the schismatics.
On April 24, Yurash is planning to visit Ptichya with representatives of the Department. The conflict around the Holy Assumption Church in the village has lasted for more than four years.
UOJ is closely following the developments in Ptichya.
