Ten UOC believers suffer during seizure of church in Zabolotye by activists

At the church of the UOC in Zabolotye on the day of the seizure 10. 05. 21. Photo: UOJ

On May 10, during the seizure of the Church of the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian by the OCU activists in the village of Zabolotye, Rivne region, ten believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church suffered. Two people were hospitalized, the rest were treated at the scene of the conflict, reports a UOJ correspondent.

A 65-year-old parishioner Eva Suprunets received the most serious injury: the woman fell to the ground from a strong blow and completely knocked out her knee joint. An ambulance on duty at the church immediately took the believer to the hospital, where she received emergency assistance.

On the morning of May 10, the rector of the church, father Andrei Bezdomov, was also hospitalized with high pressure.

“You know, the sectarian conflict has been going on for two years, but there was a lull, we relaxed a bit, and these events knocked the ground out from under our feet,” the rector said. "My blood pressure rose to 200/210, they took me to hospital in an ambulance, gave me various injections, and I couldn't stay in the ward when my people were beaten there."

According to eyewitnesses, in total 10 people were injured during the seizure of the temple by supporters of the OCU.

“Imagine: the yard was gray from spraying gas. Those who got the foam from the fire extinguisher in the eyes recovered faster, and after the gas with pepper, which the ‘titushki’ (strong-built men – Tran.) brought by the OCU injected into their mouths and eyes, people could not recover for several hours," Maria Gnitko, a parishioner of the Church of the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian commented on the events of May 10.
After the law enforcement officers sealed the temple, they also collected all the testimonies and statements from the victims. Four believers of the UOC officially claim to investigate the facts of their beating.

“And I am glad for our people, no matter how cruel it sounds, because they saw and felt how they became martyrs, how they went to death for Christ,” added Father Andrei Bezdomov.

As the UOJ reported, on May 10, 2021, OCU activists, with the support of district deputies and the "Municipal Guard" from Varash, seized the UOC church in Zabolotye. The police sealed the temple, and the authorities offered to decide the fate of the temple at a general meeting of the village.

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