Rivne official, who seized UOC temples, promises to further "assist" OCU

The "hierarch" of the OCU presents the order to Sergei Kondrachuk. Photo: Facebook page of the Rivnenska Eparchy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine

The head of the Rivne Regional Council, Sergei Kondrachuk, who was involved in the forcible seizure of seven temples of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the Zdolbuniv district of the Rivne region, considers the award received from the OCU as an incentive "to further contribute to the strengthening of the OCU."

The official wrote about this in a commentary under the post of the cleric of the Rivne diocese of the UOC, Archpriest Vasily Nachev, in which the clergyman recalled how Kondrachuk personally used a crowbar to open the doors of the temples of the canonical Church.

“Father Vasily, thank you for your congratulations!” wrote Kondrachuk on the Facebook page of the UOC priest. “This award is an incentive for me to further contribute to the strengthening of the OCU in the Rivne region. See you soon!"

As a reminder, on February 28, 2021, the Rivne "hierarch" of the OCU awarded the officials who participated in the seizure of the UOC churches "for services to the Local Ukrainian Orthodox Church." Among them is Sergei Kondrachuk, the former chairman of the Zdolbuniv Regional State Administration, who is now the head of the Rivne Regional Council. Kondrachuk, who initiated the seizure of seven churches in the Zdolbuniv district, was awarded the Order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir the Great, III degree.

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