In Kremenchuk, OCU changes its mind about “serving” in UOC cathedral
The OCU claims that they will not take over the cathedral for the time being as they want to avoid potential conflicts.
It was reported online that on 27 October, supporters of the OCU plan to hold their “service” in the UOC cathedral of the Kremenchuk Eparchy, which they had attempted to seize several times before. Late in the evening of 26 October, the media reported that the “service” was decided to be postponed.
Earlier on 26 October, the press service of the UOC eparchy reported that a group of OCU representatives is trying to take control of the temple. The group of Dumenko’s structure together with local activists tried to get into the shrine to bring in church utensils for the “service” they planned for Sunday. The community of the cathedral, along with Father Joseph, prevented them from doing so.
As the “Kremenсhuk Gazeta” wrote, the decision to cancel the service “was made only because of the threat of possible unrest between supporters of the two denominations – the OCU and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which are engaged in a dispute over the right to use the temple”.
According to OCU cleric Theodosiy, quoted by the newspaper, “the situation has become tense, so cancelling the service will help avoid potential conflicts and ensure public order”.
It is noted that law enforcers also called on representatives of both confessions to sit down at the negotiating table to resolve the situation peacefully, avoiding further escalation of tension in the city.
In his turn, Theodosiy said that the service was postponed to another time and promised to inform additionally about the date and time.
As the UOJ wrote, on 17 October in Kremenchuk, the UOC community defended the Holy Dormition Cathedral, but it was sealed by the police. Father Joseph noted that earlier an agreement had been reached with the representative of the OCU, Theodosiy, to close the temple until a court decision is made to determine its owner.
