Head of RSA incites OCU supporters to seize the temple in Povcha village

Parishioners of the Holy Trinity parish of the UOC, Povcha village, 2016 . The photo is taken from the UOJ archive

Today,on April 12, the head of the Dubno District State Administration, Yuriy Parfeniuk, gathered supporters of the OCU in the village council of Povcha, Dubno district, Rovno region. According to the UOJ, the meeting addressed the issue of transferring the Holy Trinity temple to the OCU, the owbership rights to which belong to the UOC religious community.

There is evidence that an attempt to seize the temple can be carried out today.

According to the head of the Department for the settlement of interfaith disputes at the Rovno Eparchy of the UOC, Archpriest Viktor Zemlianoy, the head of the Povcha village council planned an urgent meeting on the church issue at 3 pm, while the meeting of the executive committee was scheduled for 4 pm.

“A meeting is being held with the head of the village council. Representatives of our community and the OCU came, at the moment there are negotiations in the office,” commented Father Victor on the situation in Povcha. “I would especially like to note that the meeting is held by the head of the Regional State Administration, Yuriy Parfeniuk, rather than the head of the village council, which is a violation of the law. I think that he is working to disrupt the elections in the Dubno region and undermine the authority of the President.”

He noted that the protection agreement is the highest document defining the right of ownership, “nobody has terminated it with us, it has not been canceled and we are legal owners of the church” despite the fact that at the present time the community of the OCU is registered at this address while the UOC community is removed from registration.

“This matter is now being challenged in court,” said Father Victor.

Regarding the information that today in Povcha they may attempt to seize the temple, the priest confirmed that there are such messages, but "the police promise they will not allow any confrontation."

“Let's hope so. And whether the police will hamper or help – we don’t know, we’ll see it by their actions,” summed up the head of the Department for resolving inter-confessional disputes at the Rovno Eparchy of the UOC.

Recall that attempts to take away the temple in Povcha from the canonical Church have not ceased for years. Nevertheless, the UOC community in Povcha has been preserved and continues to carry out its religious activities in compliance with the Statute of the UOC.

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