Cleric of ex-Met. Alexander (Drabinko) helps transfer UOC community to OCU

The Holy Cross Church of the village of Oschev, a photo from the official website of the temple

Several regional editions of Volyn reported on the transfer of the religious community of the village of Oschev into a newly-formed church structure, citing a photo and scan of the “minutes” of the meeting held at a local club published by Roman Novosad, born in Oschev, on his Facebook page. According to the protocol, more than 90 people gathered outside the walls of the church to vote in favor of the OCU.

Roman Novosad is, to a certain extent, a well-known public figure in the region. Before the start of the autocephalous campaign, he was responsible for the website of the church in the village of Oschev on church.ua. However, at the time of the meeting on February 27, he no longer had anything to do with the UOC, as he had gone to serve as the parish priest to ex-Metropolitan Alexander Drabinko in Kiev.

The former press secretary of the parish could probably tell who had the idea to use a form with the requisites of the UOC community for the meeting minutes. It is possible that in the old days he himself formed the “heading” for the official correspondence and press releases of the parish, but it is unclear on what basis this was done after his transfer to the OCU and without the consent of the rector – the signatory of the parish.

Father Roman Svitlyk, who had served in Oschev for eight years, did not participate in the meeting of the territorial community of Oschev. According to him, it was not possible to induce him to transfer, and, by agreement with OCU supporters, he will continue ministering in the church till Easter. He cannot predict the further course of the events. The priest confirmed that indeed a significant part of the residents of Oschev had signed and voted for the transfer, only a few openly expressed their disagreement. Since the priest has a house in this village, so he isn’t going to leave the parish.

We recall that already two Volyn parishes that left the UOC together with their superiors, the communities of Boriskovichi and Antonovka, preferred to apply for patronage not to the local scandalous hierarch of the OCU / Kiev Patriarchate Mikhail Zinkevich but to a representative of the former UAOC in the neighboring Rovno region, the former UOC archpriest Gabriel Krizina. Two more clergymen from the neighboring Vladimir-Volynsky Eparchy became subordinated to Drabinko. One of them took with him his parish in the village of Krapivschyna, the second is now serving on Teremki in Kiev. It is still unknown which hierarch will claim the Oschev parish.

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