OCU cleric in Fastiv beats UOC rector, but the faithful defend their church

On June 2, 2022, the community of the Intercession church in Fastiv managed to defend their shrine from the raiders of the OCU, reports the Information and Education Department of the UOC.

As Archimandrite Philaret (Yegorov), secretary of the Makarov Vicariate of the Kyiv Eparchy, said, “At about 8 o’clock in the morning, the clergy of the Makarov Vicariate of the Kyiv Eparchy of the UOC began to perform a prayer service not far from the temple. At the same time, representatives of the OCU blocked the entrance to the church, who shouted insults and abuse at the believers. There was a huge crowd. Despite the fact that the police tried to bring down the confrontation, the rector, Father Anatoly, was kicked in the chest, which made him fall to the ground.

The video, which was published by the UOC, shows that one of the “priests” of the OCU kicked the rector. Father Anatoly fell, he was called an ambulance.

While the priest was being assisted, supporters of the OCU cut off the lock from the door to the sham part of the temple with a grinder. However, they could not crack the internal, almost 300-year-old doors with an old lock.

The clergy of the UOC called the National Police. If at first the law enforcement officers preferred not to intervene in the seizure, then when an additional police squad arrived on the territory of the church, the situation changed.

“After talking with the clergy of the UOC, law enforcement officers found out that the community has all the legal grounds to pray in the Intercession church, which is, in fact, obstructing the celebration of worship, and the meeting that took place here is not a meeting of a religious community. They allowed the parishioners of the UOC to go inside the church and serve there. The clergy served a thanksgiving prayer service to the Lord God for having the opportunity to pray in the church on such a big holiday, when there was an encroachment on their temple. They also expressed gratitude to those employees of the National Police who, having clarified the situation, confirmed the legal constitutional right of the religious community to pray in church, of which they are parishioners,” said Father Philaret.

Recall that on June 2, radicals stormed the Intercession church of the UOC in Fastiv.

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