Clerics of OCU stage a provocation during a military funeral in Komarivtsi

Roman Hryshchuk in the church. Photo: video screenshot

An incident occurred in the village of Komarivtsi, Bukovyna, during the funeral of Pavlo Unguryan, a soldier who died on the frontline. The event sparked public and media outrage. The UOC community present at the funeral recorded the incident on video, expressing their dismay at what transpired. The video was shared on the Dialogue.tut Telegram channel.

Roman Hryshchuk, an OCU chaplain, accused UOC clergy on Facebook of creating a tense atmosphere at the funeral. According to him, the family of the deceased soldier did not want a UOC priest to conduct the service. However, the priest appeared at the ceremony accompanied by several individuals. Hryshchuk alleged that UOC priests obstructed the OCU’s funeral rites, refused to pray in Ukrainian, behaved aggressively, and were rude to the attending military personnel. Additionally, Hryshchuk repeated false claims about Bishop Mykyta of Ivano-Frankivsk, which had already been refuted in court and the media.

A UOC parishioner commented on the situation in the church, expressing outrage at the cynicism and inappropriate behavior of representatives of Dumenko’s structure:

"I want to clarify how the burial of hero Pavlo took place. It was nothing short of a provocative mockery by OCU priests, who used patriotic sentiments as a cover to promote the seizure of the church. Shouting, pushing, and obscene language over the soldier’s body! My mind cannot comprehend how people engaging in such madness and blatant mockery can later claim they want to pray to God. To which God? My God teaches me love and mercy. It pains me that people who have no connection to our Church, who do not partake in its Holy Sacraments, were shouting that they could decide its fate. I know that just as the Lord understood before His crucifixion that what was written had to be fulfilled, so we also say, let His holy will be done. But we pray that He changes the minds of those who oppose us, making us their enemies."

As previously reported by the UOJ, UOC Deacon Andriy Hlushchenko described such incidents as part of a scheme used by OCU representatives to discredit the UOC. According to him, OCU priests arrange with relatives of deceased soldiers to conduct the funerals but bring the bodies not to their churches, but to UOC churches. They then demand the right to perform the service, denying UOC clergy the opportunity to conduct the rite themselves, claiming that "Moscow priests" cannot officiate over Ukrainian soldiers. The refusal of UOC priests to meet these demands is used as a pretext for public scandals and accusations of lacking patriotism.

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