Raider Seizure of Churches in Western Ukraine – Pre-election Extremism?

The disagreement between the two communities – of the Kiev Patriarchate and the Moscow Patriarchate – in Ptycha village has been lasting for a long time.

On the election day, November 15, the country's most important highway Kyiv-Chop was stuck in a traffic jam, which stretched for many kilometers – the parishioners of the Orthodox Church of Ptycha village (Dubno district, Rivne region.) blocked the road in protest against the seizure of their church.

Raider seizure of churches in Western Ukraine is a time-worn issue. A kind of religious extremism in Ukrainian style. In the role of the attacker is always the Kiev Patriarchate, in the role of the defender – the Moscow Patriarchate. The case of Ptycha village is no exception.

"About 20 parishioners of the Kiev Patriarchate followers broke into our church and locked themselves from the inside, – said the local people, supporters of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. – They announced the beginning of a hunger strike, but somehow packages of food and buckets for a toilet are regularly brought to the church."

The disagreement between the two communities – of the Kiev Patriarchate and the Moscow Patriarchate – in Ptycha village has been lasting for a long time. The former does not have a Church while the latter has. The solution seems to be simple: collect donations, build a church and hold services. This is the way religious communities have always done in Ukraine. But in the current political situation everything appeared much simpler: to break in and "privatize", putting forward a political ground for it instead of a spiritual one. They divide churches into the "right" and the "wrong" ones. The latter “aren’t allowed” to minister.

As a rule, local authorities start resolving a conflict after it occurs. In case of Ptycha village, when believers blocked the road, there came Yuri Parfeniuk, the head of Dubno district administration. He suggested a compromise: the parishioners of the two denominations take turns to hold services in the "disputed" church.

"Just fancy: you have been living in your house for twenty years when all of a sudden some strangers come, illegally take hold of it, then “officials” arrive and suggest an agreement – staying overnight in your home in turns. Will you be happy with that? "- laughs a local parishioner of the UOC.

Nikolai Sisoniuk, a priest of the UOC, adds: the dispute over the church in Ptycha village didn’t start yesterday; it has been going on for months. "This is our church. If they (representatives of the Kiev Patriarchate – "AIF") want to worship God, then why don’t they build their own church and not attempt to take someone else's? We are waiting for the outcome of the trial, which is scheduled for December 2. I think it is this factor that has instigated the representatives of the UOC-KP to brazenly seize our church. After all, they understand that the hearings will end up not in their favour",  – says Fr. Nikolai.

It is no surprise that confrontation between the confessions escalates in the pre-election period. "Many political parties and structures at the local level are trying to get votes of patriotic Ukrainians, especially in the west of Ukraine. The worst thing is that in each of these cases, the community splits up. There are supporters of the “Kiev Patriarchate” and the UOC-MP. But, unfortunately, the local authorities have always taken only one side. The state withdraws itself from performing its arbitration functions and leaves it to a power solution, which escalates confrontation in these unresolved issues”, – said Ruslan Bortnik, Director of the Institute for the Analysis and Management Policy.

Source: "Arguments and Facts" № 47 11/18/2015

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