UOC believers in Krasyliv defend Resurrection Church from OCU raiders

On June 23, 2023, the parishioners of the Resurrection Church of the UOC in Krasyliv, Khmelnytskyi region, did not allow activists from the OCU, led by local authorities, to seize the shrine, reports the rector of the church, Father Vitaliy Dunets, to the UOJ.

The priest noted that 16 activists, headed by the secretary of the Krasyliv City Council, Iryna Morozovych, and the deputy mayor of the city, Maryna Slobodianiuk, got into the church premises and cut the locks on the church's entrance gates with an angle grinder.

Among the raiders, parishioners also noticed council deputies Olha Tymchenko, Natalia Svyztun, and Volodymyr Prodous.

According to Father Vitaliy, after the attempted seizure of the Resurrection Church, the temple is now guarded around the clock by the parishioners.

In a statement published by the Khmelnytskyi Eparchy of the UOC, Father Vitaliy explained that the activists introduced themselves as "owners of the church and religious community" and then insulted the parishioners, calling them "collaborators" and "FSB agents in cassocks".

"Of course, people were outraged by this, and with God's help, all the people gathered to protect their church... People (parishioners – Ed.) used words like 'shame.' These words only apply to certain representatives of the local authorities and the raiders who came to seize our temple," he said.

The rector emphasized that the believers will continue to defend the shrine, despite the authorities' desire to take it from the community.

"I once again appeal to those people who provoke these conflicts, please stop doing this. We live on God's blessed land. We are now all working for victory... You want to steal our shrine, but you should know that we will protect it by all lawful means, by all legal methods because we live in a rule-of-law state," the priest added.