UOC temple in Uspenka sealed until court's decision

The Holy Dormition Church of the UOC in the village of Uspenka. Photo: alexandria-eparhia.org.ua

On November 6, 2020, the Holy Dormition Church of the Alexandria Eparchy of the UOC in the village of Uspenka of the Onufriyevka district, Kirovohrad region, was sealed till a court decision on the conflict regarding the ownership of the religious building.

As eyewitnesses of the events told the UOJ, that day, OCU supporters, accompanied by representatives of the executive service, pushed aside the believers of the UOC, who were performing a prayer service on the parish territory, and, with the assistance of law enforcement agencies, entered the temple.

Referring to the decision of the Economic Court of the Kirovohrad region of October 7, 2020, the executive service made an inventory of the property in the religious building, and representatives of the OCU put their locks on it. Earlier, the Alexandria Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church filed an appeal against this court ruling on the recognition of the church in Uspenka for the OCU community, and a decision on the essence of the conflict has not yet been made.

“As of the evening of November 6, after legal consultations and agreements, the Dormition Church in the village of Uspenka, Onufriyevka district, was closed and sealed until a court decision was made on the essence of the conflict. We ask holy prayers,” says the message of the Alexandria Eparchy.

As reported, on Friday, November 6, the supporters of the OCU intend to "enter" the temple of the Holy Dormition community of the Alexandria Eparchy of the UOC.

Attempts to take away the temple from the community of the canonical Church have continued since December 2019 when the villagers, with the support of the Right Sector, allegedly held a “parish meeting of the religious community” and voted to move to the OCU.

In the summer of 2020, the Kirovohrad Regional State Administration, ignoring the decision of the real religious Holy Dormition community, whose members unanimously voted for loyalty to the UOC, secretly illegally re-registered the community to the OCU, which the rector and members of the parish learned about by accident. The community filed an application with the police to resolve the issue in a legal field.

On October 11, members of the OCU tried to take over the temple in Uspenka, but the believers managed to defend the shrine.

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