UOC-MP parishioners keep commission and Orthodox Church in Ukraine worshippers outside their church in Khmelnytskyi Oblast for two days

Ukrainska Pravda
·2 min read
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For the third day in a row, residents of Kamianets-Podilskyi (Khmelnytskyi Oblast) have been gathering near St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral to demand that the church is transferred to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine (OCU); however, parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) do not let them enter the cathedral.

Source: Suspilne news outlet quoting Alla Chepeliuk, one of the rally's organisers

Quote from Chepeliuk: "There have been small clashes when one of the residents, who had voted in favour of the community's transition to the OCU at a meeting, tried to get through the tight chain of parishioners [of UOC-MP – ed.]. The man was pushed out; the police are on duty at the scene."

Details: According to Chepeliuk, about 200 parishioners of the UOC-MP are standing at the entrance to the church with a Ukrainian flag, singing prayers, walking around the cathedral in a procession and not letting in the residents of Kamianets-Podilskyi who demand that the St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral be transferred to the OCU.

Documents for the re-registration of St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral from the UOC-MP to the OCU are still being prepared. According to Chepeliuk, they will be taken to Khmelnytskyi Oblast Military Administration this week.

Background:

  • On 8 April, local residents voted to transfer the church in Kamianets-Podilskyi from the UOC-MP to the OCU. People demanded that the audit commission be allowed to enter the church to take an inventory and that they be given the keys to the cathedral.

  • On 9 April, clashes broke out in Kamianets-Podilskyi near the St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, and supporters of the OCU began to set up tents.

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