UOC believers are still under pressure in vlg. Gardyshevka

The Church of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian in the village of Gardyshevka, Zhitomir region

The rector and the community of the Church of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian in the village of Gardyshevka continue to oppose the activists who “transferred” their temple under the jurisdiction of the OCU, reports a UOJ source.

People who do not go to church for services took part in the voting, in which the territorial community of the village decided to "transfer" the temple under the jurisdiction of the new church structure.

The fact that the legislation of Ukraine permits only religious communities of temples to decide on the affiliation of the church was ignored at the meeting of the territorial community, as the fact that in 2002 the meeting of the village of Gardyshevka transferred the premises of the Church of St. John the Theologian to the religious community of the canonical Church.

Employees of the local TV channel "VIC", who made the story of the "voluntary transfer" of the church, also do not understand the difference between the concepts of "territorial community" and "religious community". The journalists of the TV channel in their own story are openly wondering why decisions that relate to religious life should be made by “some kind of church community”. It is not clear to the staff of the TV channel why those who do not attend church services and participate in its improvement, cannot decide who this temple should belong to.

One of the UOC clerics who were present during the “conversation” tried to remind the OCU activists, who “persuaded” him to move to a new church structure, that the believers of the canonical Church are Ukrainians just like them. However, in response, he was called the "agent of the Kremlin".

“Each of us has a Ukrainian passport. And we pray for the Ukrainian state,” said the priest of the UOC.

He explained that he does not need to move to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church because he is already in the bosom of the canonical UOC.

According to the UOJ source, supporters of the new church structure continue to put pressure on the parishioners and the rector of the Church of St. John the Theologian.

On February 3, 2019, the community of the Church of the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian in vlg. Gardyshevka, together with the dean of the Berdichev district Archimandrite Bartholomew (Boykov), held a meeting, in which they expressed loyalty to the UOC and His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry. Only one of the parishioners spoke out for the transfer to the OCU.

The editorial board of the UOJ reminds that in case of violation of the rights of the episcopate, clergy, laity and institutions of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (obstructing worship, seizure of churches, provocations and pressure, threats, etc.), you must immediately contact the Legal Department of the UOC by phone: 097 537-55-96.

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