Parishioners defend their temple against right-wing radicals in Odessa
In the center of Odessa, a group of right-wing radicals tried to write insulting inscriptions on the church of the UOC and beat the rector trying to halt them.
The incident occurred on the evening of August 5 in the temple in honor of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God of St. Andrew's metochion, located in the heart of the city, as the press service of Odessa eparchy reports.
The radicals came to the temple and tried to write insulting inscriptions, having prepared in advance a stencil and a can of paint but were stopped by the parishioners of the church who at that moment, along with their children, students of the Sunday school, returned from the bike trip around Odessa.
Reportedly, the rector-led believers of the temple prevented provocateurs, and the radicals inflicted bodily injuries on the clergyman. All this was happening in the eyes of children and women who were not afraid of the young men brandishing their fists and shouting threats, but rose to defend their temple.
"This bandit assault on the clergyman and believers with the children took place not just somewhere, but right in the center of Odessa, at the peak of the holiday season, when tens of thousands of tourists came to us to rest in a hospitable and peaceful "pearl by the sea". We once again appeal to law enforcement agencies, and first of all – to the police, with a legitimate demand – to protect the constitutional rights of believers and not allow this kind of provocations that serve to destabilize the situation in our city and create an atmosphere of hostility and hatred," emphasizes the eparchy.
After the provocation had flopped, the police were called to the scene, whose staff accepted accounts from the clergymen and parishioners of the church.
Earlier, during the meeting of representatives of the Odessa eparchy of the UOC and the delegation of the special observation mission in Ukraine of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the OSCE representatives said that activated provocations against the UOC in Odessa region disturb the world community.
