In Chernovtsy, OCU members picket the office of a lawyer who defends UOC

Picket participants. Photo: “Molodyi Bukovynets”

On May 23, 2019, in Chernovtsy, about 50 “clerics” and the laity of the OCU picketed the office of attorney Petro Poliak, who represented the interests of the UOC in court, the “Molodyi Bukovynets” online edition reports.

The picket participants were holding posters with the inscriptions: “Putin’s lawyers”, “Orthodox Bukovina for justice”, “The Moscow Patriarchate’s money does not smell”.

“You understand that by virtue of your advocacy, you have no right to take the other side, the side of the competitors of the people who hired you to do business. But we ask and urge you to remember that when it comes to moral changes in society, we do not have the right either to stick to neutrality or to take the side of people who are destroying our homeland,” said one of the OCU members.

He urged lawyers "not to help the Moscow Patriarchate keep parishes in Moscow captivity".

“We know that you are helping the Moscow Patriarchate to open criminal proceedings against patriots, against the priests who want the Moscow Patriarchate to cease in their village and the whole community to transfer to the OCU”, the “clergyman” of the new church structure accused the human rights activists.

The "clergy" of the OCU called Poliak and assured that he was supposedly "with them spiritually."

The UOJ Editorial Board reminds: in case of violation of the rights of the episcopate, clergy, laity and institutions of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (obstruction of worship, seizure of churches, commission of provocations and pressure, threats, etc.), one should immediately contact the Legal Department of the UOC by phone: 097- 537-55-96.

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