OCU activists seize sealed church of UOC in Belichi

St. Michael's Church in Belichi. Photo: wikipedia.org

On November 8, 2020, activists of the OCU in the village of Belichi of the Ivanychy district, Volyn region, contrary to preliminary agreements with the UOC community, opened the St. Michael's Church and held their "divine service" indoors. At this time, the parishioners of the UOC together with the rector prayed in the street, reports a UOJ correspondent.

Earlier, on November 5, the media reported that OCU activists cut off the locks on the sealed church and hung their locks on the door, providing them with the seals of the Central Election Commission.

“These seals were removed and handed over to the police as material evidence. We wrote a statement, now the incident is being investigated,” said Archpriest Pavel Melnik, rector of the St. Michael's community of the UOC.

He also said that on November 12 in Novovolynsk, a court session should be held on the claim for illegal re-registration of the UOC community in Belichi in favour of the OCU.

We recall that at the end of September 2020, OCU activists also tried to break down the doors in the church, but after several hours of confrontation, the parties agreed that it would be sealed before the court's decision.

Earlier, on May 16, 2019, the regional authorities transferred the legal entity – the community of the canonical Church – to the jurisdiction of the OCU. According to the rector, many fakes were found in the documents, according to which the RSA transferred the parish of the UOC to the OCU.

As reported earlier, a UOC temple in Volyn was sealed after an attempted seizure by OCU activists. 

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