Deputies and public officials take part in the seizure of Intercession Church in the Ukrainian village of Chepelevka

DECR Communication Service, 16.01.2024.

On the morning of January 14, 2024, just before the festive liturgy, raiders of the OCU schismatic structure together with deputies and public officials seized the Intercession church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the village of Chepelevka, Khmelnitsky region, the Union of Orthodox Journalists reports quoting the press service of the Diocese of Khmelnitsky.

Assisted by Aleksandr Chorniyevich, a deputy of the Khmelnitsky District Council, the raiders broke down the gate, cut off the locks of the side doors, and wormed their way to the church. After the seizure, law enforcers banned Archpriest Vasily Varokhoba, rector of the community, from entering the church.

The press service reports that the militants took the communion cloth out of the church and used most disgusting language. Rector of the community, archpriest Vasily Varokhoba, reported the crimes to the police.

The raiders took two unsuccessful attempts to seize the Intercession church on January 8.

The seizure of the church with the support of deputies and law enforcement officers took place notwithstanding the decision taken by the community on 14 October 2023. Its members confirmed their spiritual and canonical unity with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Three hundred parishioners voted in favor.

"The will of the actual members of the religious community of the Intercession parish was disregarded by the Khmelnitsky Regional State Administration, which re-registered the parish into the OCU. Officials of the Administration turned a blind eye to the statement of 16 October 2023 with a request to refrain from unlawful registration of the charter in the new version, to take into account the decision of the general parish meeting on the unity with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, to promote and protect the rights of the religious community and prevent raider capture of the religious organization as a legal entity and the seizure of the church," the Diocese said.

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Deputies and public officials take part in the seizure of Intercession Church in the Ukrainian village of Chepelevka

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons