Lesopol believers confirm their loyalty to UOC but OCU claims their temple
The religious community of Lesopol of the Sarny Eparchy of the UOC has confirmed allegiance to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry.
As it became known, the meeting of the parish council of the St. Panteleimon Church in the village of Lesopol of the Kostopol district, Rovno region, took place on April 7, 2019, immediately after the Liturgy.
During the meeting, 260 believers of the village expressed their desire to remain in the canonical Church.
According to eyewitnesses, the church was overcrowded, people gathered to show their loyalty and prevent interfaith conflict in the village.
“Our religious community is quite friendly, the temple, which we began to build in 2012, has united us for common work and prayer,” says Priest Alexander Galukha, rector of the St. Panteleimon Church. “Therefore, the parishioners, not newcomers, came to the meeting to prevent our work from being grabbed.”
260 parishioners expressed their loyalty to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church during the meeting. The elected secretary recorded this in the protocol signed by the meeting attendees. Under current law, the bishop and the notary publicly endorsed this document.
In the village of Lesopol, the church conflict has been developing for more than two months. At the moment, it is at the stage of collecting signatures. According to the information, OCU supporters have collected a little more than a hundred signatures, but are ready to register their community.
It is worth noting that in this settlement there has long been a division into two religious communities, which did not have their churches but prayed in adjusted premises. Believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are completing the construction of their church, while supporters of the Kiev Patriarchate are still gathering for worship in a small house. Locals say that it is the new temple that attracts the OCU activists. Claiming the title rights, they are even ready to go against the majority opinion.
The religious community of the UOC of the village of Lesopol has addressed with an official statement the chairman of the Rovno Regional State Administration Alexei Muliarenko in order to prevent confrontation that may arise in a short time.
