UOC KP activist in Singury: I am the rector of the new community

On March 5, 2019, in the village of Singury, Zhitomir region, a group of people who declared themselves the legal successor of the current religious community of the UOC (according to the documents allegedly issued by the UOC KP) attempted to seize the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, reports a UOJ source.

“They demanded to vacate the cult premises, to give the keys to them, and in case of refusal they threatened to cut the locks from the church,” said the rector of the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Fr. Vadim (Davniuk).

Representatives of the religious community of the UOC Church and the police immediately arrived at the scene.

“In order to be the successor of the community, it is necessary that the previous religious community ceases to exist, and it does exist and will exist! It has the rector, the statute and all the constituent documents,” Svetlana Krukovska, a lawyer of the Zhitomir Eparchy, explained to those present, asking for the name of the new community’s “rector”.

“I am the rector of the new community,” one of the activists of the UOC KP said after some confusion.

After emotional altercation and discussions on the interpretation of the legislation of Ukraine that followed, a group of radical people left the territory of the temple, providing an explanation to the police.

“I don’t think that they will stop there,” said the rector of the church, Fr. Vadim. “The issue is most likely to be decided in court, and lawyers of the Zhitomir Eparchy are already preparing the relevant documents.”

As reported by the UOJ, on January 31, 2019, the religious community of the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in the village of Singury of the Zhitomir district, Zhitomir region, unanimously supported the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, headed by His Beatitude Onufry.