Rector of UOC church in Zazymya details attempted seizure by OCU members
According to Fr Alexander, OCU members backed by the local police behaved unceremoniously while the UOC parishioners refused to leave the church and kept praying.
Archpriest Alexander Generalenko, the rector of the Christ Resurrection Church in Zazymya (the Bila Tserkva Eparchy) described what happened during the attempted seizure of the church by the radicals. The video is posted on the "1 Kozak" YouTube channel.
On September 10, at 8 o’clock, the liturgy began, then the akathist was read, and when the prayer service was in progress, the seizure started, Father Alexander explained. “Father Anatoly entered the temple with a group of 20 of his ‘followers’ and showed me a document that the regional council signed to re-register the church from the UOC to the OCU, and that, they say, now he is the rector here,” the priest said.
According to the rector, for the last two months, services have been held in the temple every day: the believers of the UOC prayed in the temple while supporters of the OCU – outdoors.
“He (Anatoly Slinko – Ed.) suggested that we vacate the temple, he is already starting the service tonight, he offered to take things, the lock, the keys to the lock ... He brought with him some photographer who took pictures of the icons, probably so that we don’t steal anything here,” the rector said. He noted that he suggested that Dumenko's supporters use the local spiritual centre for their services and leave the temple to the UOC believers, who have been praying here for many years and will not leave the shrine.
In response, Slinko made it clear that this option did not suit him, stating that it was not he who decided, but the "community", and brought an unknown woman to Father Alexander, whom the priest had never seen in the temple, but, apparently, she was a representative of that "communities".
“And then the police arrived, and the district police officer took an active part demanding that we leave the church. It was clear that he was on the side of this “rector” ... He began to call for us to leave the temple because this temple is already the OCU,” the priest noted and recalled with a smile that the representative of the authorities demanded from him documents proving that he is the rector. “I’ve been the rector here for 32 years, what documents?.. This is ridiculous, I’ve baptized everyone here in 32 years,” he said.
The believers of the UOC refused to leave the church and continued praying. OCU "priest" Alexander Slinko demanded that Fr Alexander order them to leave. “I say, you tell them yourself ... He has ministered here for 15 years, and old women respected him very much, two years ago he fought against the OCU ... I tell him – go to the seniors and tell them what you are doing now, do you have another god?" the rector of the Christ Resurrection Church said.
Archpriest Alexander Levchuk, Dean of the First Brovary District of the Boryspil and Brovary Eparchy, noted that the situation in Zazymya had been developing for several months. “It all happened after some people in the village started inciting others to join the OCU. They held a meeting and re-registered the temple of the UOC to the OCU within a month,” he explained and added that at present the temple is sealed and locked with two locks (one belongs to the UOC, the other – to the OCU), the UOC community can pray in another temple. According to the dean, the issue of ownership of the temple will be decided in court.
As reported, in Zazymya, the OCU “priest”, together with the territorial defense members, tried to seize a UOC temple.
