OCU activists in Myshev cut off church locks hanged by the police

St. Nicholas temple in the village of Myshev. Photo: Bug

On January 26, 2020, activists of the OCU, led by the newly appointed "priest," opened the belfry and cut off the locks from the temple of St. Nicholas community of the UOC in Myshev village in Ivanichi district, Volyn region. Arriving on call, the police only took pictures of what was happening. This was reported to the UOJ correspondent in the UOC community.

We will remind that St. Nicholas temple of the UOC in Myshev belongs to one of the Volyn communities, re-registered in favor of the OCU by the decision of the regional authorities on the basis of the provided protocol of gatherings of the village community. The opinion of the parish of the UOC was not taken into account at all: the UOJ reported that the officials, according to their own words, would re-register the parish if there were even three signatures of the OCU supporters.

Since in fact there are just a few supporters of the OCU in Myshev, the community has so far managed to keep its temple from being seized while the case is being considered in court. The temple has been closed since November 30, 2019, the police put the locks on the doors. The entrance was sealed by representatives of the UOC and OCU communities.

On January 26, the seizure began when the members of the OCU opened the belfry of the temple complex in order to gain access to electricity. Further, supporters of the newly formed church structure turned on the grinder and cut the locks from the church doors. Arriving at the place, the police recorded the incident, and after the “service” the representatives of the OCU again closed the doors but with their locks. The removed seal was also glued to the place, and according to supporters of the new church organization, they would remove it whenever they wanted.

The UOC priest, Fr. Ivan Shcherban, served that day in a neighboring village, where he also has a parish. Where the UOC community will gather in Myshev is still unknown. Recall that earlier, to resolve the conflict, it was assumed that believers would remain in the belfry: it is not much different from the church in size. What will happen now is unclear.

The UOC community in the village of Myshev was re-registered on May 16, 2019, by the order of the head of Volyn Regional State Administration.

As reported by the UOJ, on January 20, activists of the OCU, under the pretext of a funeral, provoked a religious conflict in the village of Susval, Volyn Region.

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