Krasyliv's priest urges SBU to test him and mayor on lie detector

Krasyliv’s priest of the UOC, Fr Vitaly Dunets. Photo: a screenshot of the Khmelnytskyi Eparchy's TG channel

The rector of the Resurrection Church of the UOC in Krasyliv, Archpriest Vitaly Dunets, made a video appeal to the mayor of the city Nila Ostrovska, representatives of the OCU and the Security Service of Ukraine. The appeal was published on the Khmelnytskyi Eparchy's Telegram channel.

The priest stated that the mayor N. Ostrovska claims that he is allegedly sponsored by Moscow, and it is for this reason that he refuses to move to the OCU.

"Before all the relics of the temple, I testify that I have never taken any funds from anyone. For 20 years of priestly ministry, I have never asked anyone to pay for any petitions. I have never been to Moscow and have never taken money from there," Fr Vitaly said. Vitaly asked the SBU to organise a joint briefing with the mayor of the city.

"I ask you to officially, on the air, connect me to the polygraph. I am ready to answer any questions of yours and any resident of our city," the priest said and suggested that questions should also be asked to Nila Ostrovska.

"I want people to see who organises the seizures of temples, who pushes people to this. And it is the heads of state institutions, who forced people to sign against our Church, against our religious community to take away our temple. Everyone in Krasyliv knows everything, they know that people did not do it of their own free will, that they were under pressure, they were threatened with dismissal from their jobs," the priest said.

He believes that Ostrovska has already realised her mistake in her actions around the UOC, that she provoked the conflict in the city. Fr Vitaly urged her to return to the good relations that were between the authorities and believers before the attempted seizure of the temple.

"I emphasise once again – our religious community has not moved, is not moving anywhere and is not going to move," Fr. Vitaly.

He also addressed the OCU believers, suggesting they should finish the construction they started by digging a pit for their new church if they do not fit in the temple they go to.

"Then why aren't you building this temple, why aren't you organising yourselves around your community, why is it so important for you to take the temple away from us?" he asked the OCU members.

As reported, Judge Volodymyr Shovkun of the Krasyliv District Court obliged the rector of the Resurrection community to let the OCU into his church.

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