OCU activists cut off locks and seize the temple in Kopytov

On April 10, supporters of the OCU wanted to seize the temple but after lengthy negotiations the parties agreed to seal it

The fact that the church will be sealed until the court decision, which should decide the future fate of St. John the Theologian temple in Kopytov, Korets district, Rovno region, was agreed on by the parties on Wednesday, April 10, after a 6-hour standoff. But today, supporters of the OCU cut off locks and seized the temple.

According to the eyewitnesses of the developments, the household building belonging to the head of the newly-formed OCU community caught fire last night. The fire was noticed by neighbors, believers of the canonical Church, who came to the rescue and began to take cattle out of the burning barn and help extinguish the fire.

After the fire was stopped, the owner of the building blamed the parishioners of the canonical Church who had helped him.

“In the morning, they (supporters of the OCU – Ed.) went to the priest to reprise and menace him; they said that they would take him and his wife along with three children to the forest. They said they would cut locks on the church, that there was no agreement and the UOC believers played unfairly,” said the faithful of the village.

When law enforcement officials arrived at the scene, members of the OCU’s religious community had already picked up locks and entered the temple.

As the UOJ reported, on April 10, 2019, the UOC church in Kopytov was attacked by church raiders, which was initiated by the police chief of the Korets district department. During the raider attack, one of the activists of the OCU began to threaten the rector of the temple with cutting his face. Representatives of the local administration, who had previously organized a collection of signatures in support of the transfer of the St. John the Theologian parish to the OCU, were actively involved in fomenting an interfaith conflict in the village. However, supporters of the transition failed to persuade the believers to change the confession despite continued pressure and lies.

Read also