Bila Tserkva believers protesting against transfer of UOC cathedral to OCU

On June 23, 2023, about a hundred parishioners of the Transfiguration Cathedral of the UOC gathered near the building of the City Council in Bila Tserkva to express their disagreement with the local authorities' intention to transfer their shrine to the OCU.

The believers recorded a video appeal in which they called on the Bila Tserkva mayor, the deputies, and officials to abandon the scheduled consideration of the question of transferring the cathedral at the city council session on June 29.

"Our church is our home, where we grew up. They want to take it away and transfer it to some non-existent religious community, even if they register it," the parishioners noted. "How can you look us in the eye if you take away our home from us? Haven't we earned the right to come there every Sunday and pray for our state, for our husbands, for our children who are now at war and in hospitals, to pray for the deceased?"

The believers emphasized that the UOC community restored the Transfiguration Cathedral, which they received in a half-ruined state, and has been taking care of this shrine and architectural monument for 34 years.

"Everyone who grew up in this city remembers the condition our cathedral was in when it was handed over to our community. There was a sports club, and even the altar had a toilet. The church was shabby, without a dome and a floor. We have photos, and there are still people alive who personally cleared out the trash and took it away with trucks. Now our church is in the best condition among architectural monuments in the Kyiv region. Before the war, we had a commission that expressed gratitude to our key keeper, Archimandrite Alexiy, for maintaining the cathedral in such an ideal condition," the parishioners noted.

They reminded the authorities that the Transfiguration community is engaged in extensive social work: providing hot meals for those in need every day, supplying them with clothing, assisting a large group of people struggling with alcohol and drug addiction, and organizing activities for children with disabilities. A week ago, the parish collected and sent about 40 tons of humanitarian aid to residents of the Kherson region affected by the explosion at the Kakhovka HPP.

The appeal emphasizes that according to the Constitution, "no religion in our country is a state religion, and government bodies have no right to give preference to any confession".

"Do not forget that we, your voters, have given you authority and positions. We are your employers; we pay taxes so that you receive salaries. And we ask you: why, our employees, have you turned against us? Why do you want to disperse us? You are causing great harm to our city. When there is a war, when we need to unite, consolidate all our forces, embrace and support each other, why are you dividing our society?" the believers ask.

They emphasized that in Bila Tserkva, there are 14 UOC parishes - a "great force" that is ready to defend its legitimate rights.

"We are not second-rate people, and we will not allow anyone to treat us that way. We deserve respect for our work, for how much we contribute to this city," the parishioners declare. "We have legal leverage, we have the courts, and we will defend our rights."

The city mayor, Hennadiy Dykyi, whom the participants of the rally met at the entrance to the City Hall, said that he doesn't have time for a conversation and limited himself to stating that the City Executive Committee once transferred the Transfiguration Cathedral to the "Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate" and now the deputies have cancelled that decision.

As reported, on April 27, 2023, Bila Tserkva City Council voted to hand over the cathedral to the city authorities and obliged the community to vacate the church within 10 days.

In a commentary to the UOJ, the head of the administrative service of the Bila Tserkva Eparchy of the UOC and the dean of Bila Tserkva, Archpriest Valeriy Yablonsky, noted that the Savior Transfiguration Cathedral is an architectural monument of national importance and, according to the law, only the Cabinet of Ministers can decide on its fate.

On 9 May, representatives of the city authorities, headed by the City Council secretary Dmytro Kyryshun, attempted to seal the cathedral, but the believers did not allow this – they called an investigative police group and wrote a statement about the offence.