Susval believers of the UOC pray at the walls of a sealed temple

The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Susval. Photo: from open sources.

On February 9, 2020, the community of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the UOC in the village of Susval, Volodymyr-Volynsky district, Volyn region, gathered for a liturgy in front of the closed temple for the first time, reports a UOJ correspondent.

Believers with the rector Fr. Bogdan Gnatiuk went to the church territory, where they served Sunday services. Last Sunday, the community did not gather to avoid conflict, at the request of law enforcement officers.

As reported earlier, on January 31, the temple of the UOC in the village of Susval was sealed by the police. As announced by the head of the Volodymyr-Volynsky police department Mikhail Bobik, all the entrances to the church will be closed until the issue of the confessional affiliation of the community is resolved in court. Neither the believers of the UOC nor the activists of the OCU will get into the church while the police keep their word.

We recall that the UOC community in Susval was reregistered to the OCU by order of the chairman of the Volyn RSA on March 26, 2019, despite the fact that the parish meeting confirmed their allegiance with the UOC. Further development of events showed that the support for the canonical UOC in the village is indeed greater since for almost a year the temple has remained at the disposal of its community. Services during this time were repeatedly tried to disrupt, and in January 2020, another conflict broke out near the church, after which the building was sealed.

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