Nizhyn Eparchy on situation in Pryputni: We will defend the truth in court

The seized Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Pryputni. Photo: Andriy Kovalov’s Facebook page

The Nizhyn Eparchy of the UOC will defend the law and truth in the courts. The spokesperson of the eparchy, Archpriest Valery Dashko, told the “Orthodox Life” resource about this, commenting on the recent seizure of the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village of Pryputni, Chernihiv region, by OCU activists.

The priest stated that the incident in Pryputni "certainly violates the law".

“A service was scheduled, which was actually disrupted,” he said. “Radical people from the OCU stood in the way of the rector and parishioners and did not allow our religious community to serve. <...> After the seizure of the temple on April 4, the OCU activists performed their service in it, after which they closed the doors and left the guards."

The archpriest stressed that "of course, the Nizhyn Eparchy of the UOC will defend the law and truth in the courts".

“We act only within the framework of the law, so I assume that the process will not be quick,” added the clergyman.

As the UOJ reported, on April 4, 2021, the nationalists of the “Svoboda” party seized the UOC church in Pryputni. About 20 people came to the village to organize the seizure. Some of them were identified by the believers – they were participants in the seizures of UOC churches in other settlements of the region, in particular, in the villages of Kruty, Parafiyevka, etc.

As the rector said, the church in Pryputni seized by the OCU activists was attended by UOC believers from two villages, and this is about 500 people.

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