"Cyborg" calls on authorities to stop seizure of UOC church in Kolomyia

Sergey Biloshitsky, the commander of the first company of the 90th separate assault battalion of the 81st airmobile brigade, which in 2014 took part in the battle for Donetsk airport, urged the authorities to "firmly restore order" and return the temple of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to believers of Kolomyia, stop church raiding by the UOC-KP and the UGCC and show that the state is ruled by law. He wrote about this on the Facebook page of the organization "Defence that Justice".

"Instead of fulfilling one of their important missions – to unite people for the sake of love for God and neighbour, the representatives of the UOC-KP and the UGCC are inciting their parishioners to illegal and sinful actions, by forcibly taking away property from the flock of the UOC. The authorities not only do not interfere in these conflicts, but also play along with the radically-minded parties. The police are also inactive, watching excesses take place," he stressed.

In his opinion, the seizure by the Greek Catholics of the UOC church in Kolomyia could be the first step that will outrage communities and start a religious war in our country.

"I demand that the authorities intervene in the conflict between the faiths and establish law in all disputable issues. Otherwise, we will have to defend ourselves the legitimate position of the parishioners of the UOC in Kolomyia and other cities and villages of our country," he writes.

Biloshitsky asks the society "to stop inflaming the atmosphere in the religious issue, because it is a direct way to the aggravation of internal conflicts, in which the losing party is primarily we – Ukrainians! After all, if the right of the majority starts to operate in Ukraine, there will be a lot of so-called hot-heads, who will mirror seizures of UGCC temples in the regions where they are few of them, begin asking questions what the Muslims do on the Ukrainian land and grab mosques, the eternal Jewish issue. .. This cannot be tolerated. We must respect the right of everyone to pray to the Lord," he stressed.

Read also

Met. Saba: The Church Offers Authentic Masculinity and Femininity

Antiochian hierarch urges deeper study of conversion trends, stressing that Orthodoxy offers complementarity — not competition — between men and women.

GOARCH Sets 2026 Clergy-Laity Congress for Cleveland

GOARCH will convene its 2026 Clergy-Laity Congress in Cleveland, highlighting parish renewal under the theme “Rise and Build,” alongside major Philoptochos and young-adult gatherings.

Monastic Vocations Gathering Draws Young Men to St. Peter's Monastery

Visit from Hilandar abbot highlights growing interest in Orthodox monastic life in America.

HCHC Wins $7.5 Million Lilly Endowment Grant to Revamp Priestly Formation

Grant will fund redesigned Master of Divinity program with extensive parish-based training.

Islamists Desecrate Orthodox and Presbyterian Churches in Sudan

Two Port Sudan churches were defaced with Islamic graffiti, highlighting rising anti-Christian hostility amid the Sudanese civil war.

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Falls Asleep in the Lord

The Tokyo-born performer will be remembered for decades of film and TV work. In 2015, he was baptized into the Orthodox faith, taking the name Panteleimon.