In Kremenchuk, OCU attempts to seize UOC's Holy Assumption Cathedral again

Holy Assumption Cathedral. Photo: kg.ua

An attempted takeover of the Holy Assumption Cathedral has again occurred in Kremenchuk, reports the diocesan website.

The UOC religious community reports that a group of OCU representatives is attempting to take control of the church, a repeated and illegal occurrence. The cathedral’s religious community remains loyal to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the leadership of Metropolitan Onuphry and intends to defend its right to conduct services in its sanctuary.

A group from the OCU, along with local activists, attempted today to enter the church to bring in liturgical items for a “service” they scheduled for tomorrow. The cathedral community, along with Father Iosif, tried to prevent them. The brawl involved shouting and accusations.

Father Iosif reminded them that an earlier agreement had been reached with OCU representative Theodosy to keep the church closed until a court decision determined its rightful ownership. Despite this, Theodosy announced an OCU “service” planned for 9:00 a.m. tomorrow in the Assumption Cathedral. OCU representatives plan to bring their items into the church, potentially doing so tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.

Police were present at the scene and prevented clashes between the parties, though no final resolution to the conflict has been reached.

As previously reported by the UOJ, on October 17, the UOC Holy Assumption Cathedral community defended the cathedral, but it was sealed off by police.

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