Mogilev-Podolsky mayor leads an attempt to seize church in Vinnitsa region

The meeting initiated by the official took place after the UOC religious community refused to change its jurisdiction

On Monday, January 28, in the village of Solnechnoye, Vinnitsa region (Mogilev-Podolsky eparchy), an attempt was made to forcefully transfer the religious community to the so-called OCU. Illegal actions took place on the personal initiative of the Mogilev-Podolsky mayor Pyotr Brovko, reports a UOJ correspondent.

A few days earlier, the rector of the local church, Protopriest Sergei Khavalits, held a meeting of the religious community, at which the believers confirmed their loyalty to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its Primate, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry.

After that, there appeared announcements about the upcoming meeting of the village, with only one question on the agenda – the change in the subordination of the religious community. On January 28, at 1:00 pm, the mayor of Mogilev-Podolsky Pyotr Brovko and his deputy Vitaly Krigan arrived in the village to conduct an illegal vote right on the street near the store not far from the church.

The meeting initiated by the official took place several hours after the official appeal of the National Police of Ukraine in the Vinnitsa region on the unlawfulness of the interference of local governments in the affairs of religious communities. When one of the UOC priests, who came to support the believers, tried to demonstrate and read to Pyotr Brovko the appeal of the National Police, the mayor of Mogilev-Podolsky called him “a liar who has got various pieces of paper and is ready to lie” into the microphone.

The official behaved very emotionally, not giving the opportunity to speak either to the rector of the temple or to believers. At some point, he began to threaten the clergy, asked them to “step aside” to clarify the relationship, and even physically attacked one of the clerics of the Mogilev-Podolsky eparchy. Deputy head Vitaly Krigan also threatened representatives of the UOC.

When the rector of the local church was given the floor, the mayor demanded that the sound-amplifying equipment should be immediately turned off.

At the same time, Anna Mironishina, a local entrepreneur, who shouted “Katsap church” to the UOC believers and clergy, held another “meeting” in the temple, which she herself led. All this was done very quickly and spontaneously, while some people “debated” outdoors.

Believers of the Mogilev-Podolsky eparchy of the UOC claim that they are not going to put up with the raiding organized with the direct intervention of local authorities and will appeal against the illegal actions of officials in court.

Как сообщал СПЖ, ранее НПО «Общественная правозащита» обратилась к главе Винницкой ОГА с просьбой обеспечить невмешательство представителей местных властей в решение вопросов, которые находятся в компетенции собраний религиозных общин.

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