Details of attempted seizure of UOC church in Pylypovychi become known
Raiders of the OCU are trying to seize the Church of St Demetrius of Thessaloniki, the rector of which is the winner of the "People Who Impressed Us in 2023" project.
The rector of the Church of St Demetrius of Thessaloniki, Archpriest Borys Kovalchuk, revealed new details of the "transition" of the UOC community to the OCU.
According to the priest, upon learning about the planned meeting of villagers regarding the "transition" of the Church of the Great Martyr Demetrius from the UOC to the Dumenko structure (OCU), he, together with parishioners, went to the House of Culture.
"There we were met by unknown people who demanded that we register on blank forms. There was no 'heading' on them. We realized that our signatures could be used for some selfish purposes, so we did not register. We did not provide our data. We stayed in the courtyard of the House of Culture," the priest said.
He noted that only 6 people entered the hall of the House of Culture. "They were all identified. These are real residents of our village."
The priest emphasized that "the 'community' that voted for the transition from the UOC to the OCU consisted of 6 people."
"The rest of the people who came to the meeting stood outside. The arriving provocateurs were greatly outraged by this. Unknown people did not let us into the premises of the House of Culture. There were insults and abuses. The police did not react to how we were insulted, pushed and cursed, how women were humiliated," Father Borys reports.
In the end, the raiders announced that 120 people unanimously voted for the "transition to the OCU", he continued, stating that the real religious community of the church does not consider the "transition" legitimate.
As reported, OCU clerics brought provocateurs for the "transition" of the temple of the UOC in Pylypovychi.
