Vorzel: last church of UOC transferred to OCU

Local residents vote in favour of transferring the temple to the OCU. Photo: facebook.com/bucharada.gov.ua

On 30 July 2023, in Vorzel, Kyiv region, local authorities held a territorial meeting, in which the last temple of the UOC, Sts Peter and Paul’s Church, was transferred to the OCU, as reported on the Facebook page of the Bucha Town Council.

As stated in the message, 599 people out of 604 present supported the transfer, and only 5 people were against it.

In a comment under the post, the priest of the UOC Ivan Tokarchuk wrote: "It was a meeting of the territorial community. The religious community of the Peter and Paul parish remained in the UOC."

This time supporters of the UOC tried to protest, but they were not allowed to attend the meeting.

On 20 May 2023, Sts Peter and Paul’s Church of the UOC in Vorzel, Kyiv region, could not be transferred to the OCU. The meeting at Vorzel School No 10 was attended by more than 160 residents of the settlement, including parishioners of the UOC. They defended the belonging of the temple to the canonical Church. As a result, the authorities failed to hold a vote for the transition to the OCU. The town council called it a provocation and postponed the meeting of the territorial community.

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