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October 20, 2023Parishioners in the village of Bugryn in the Rivne region of Ukraine successfully defended their church and forced local officials to back down.
This information was reported on the website of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Previously, in Bugryn village in the Rivne region, the village head, Sergey Piliptchuk, with the support of district officials, threatened to seal the Ascension Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and deprive the faithful of the right to hold religious services there.
A video shared on the “Laity” Telegram channel shows officials leaving the church premises after listening to an elderly believer’s plea.
In desperation, the grandmother asked, “Where should I go to pray?” Another government representative responded, “Don’t cry here. Let’s put an end to this,” and he too left.
In October 18, 2023, at the initiative of Piliptchuk, representatives of the Rivne district and Bugryn village councils arrived at the church to carry out a decision to transfer the building, which had housed the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s church for decades, from communal ownership to state ownership.
The diocese’s press service noted that the religious division in Bugryn occurred in the mid-1990s when the Ukrainian Orthodox Church community gained the right to use the old outpatient clinic building, renovated it, and began holding religious services there. The village had previously enjoyed interfaith harmony until the village head initiated a struggle against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church parish.
“The change of ownership does not deprive the religious community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the right to be in this building,” explained Father Vasyl Nachev, head of the legal department of the Rivne diocese. “The community has a contract, signed many years ago, as well as all the necessary documents to defend their rights in court.”
In the past year, Ukrainian authorities have organized the most extensive wave of persecution against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the country’s recent history. Citing its ties to Russia, local authorities in various regions of Ukraine have made decisions to prohibit the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The World Council of Churches had warned of the negative consequences of the government’s proposed law initiated by the Cabinet of Ministers. Foreign entities exist not only within the Ukrainian Orthodox Church but also within other religious denominations. There is also known legislative initiative by members of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine specifically aimed at prohibiting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.