Raiders of OCU seize UOC temple in Zhytomyr region

Raiders of the OCU cut off the locks in the Alexander Nevsky Church of the UOC in the village of Tsarivka. Photo: spzh.news

On April 13, 2023, the raiders of the OCU cut off the locks on the Alexander Nevsky Church of the UOC in the village of Tsarivka, Korostyshiv deanery of the Zhytomyr diocese, after which they seized the shrine. The UOJ was told about this by a source in the Zhytomyr diocese.

According to the source, the forceful seizure of the UOC temple occurred with the participation of the village headman, as well as deputies Eduard Pidkevych and Mykola Overkovsky.

The initiator of the raid is the head of the local Starostyn district, Olena Dukhnevych: “Back in May last year, she gathered 43 people from the so-called territorial community who decided to pass to the OCU <...> During the year, there were 5 attempts to raid the temple. In incomprehensible ways and illegally, our community was re-registered in favor of the OCU.”

At the same time, back in 2022, more than 150 members of the local religious community unanimously voted for loyalty to the UOC and its Primate, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry.

As the UOJ reported, believers in the village of Tsarivka, Zhytomyr region, saved the UOC temple from the raider seizure.

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