Glukhov authorities force UOC clerics to transfer to the new Church

Three-Anastasievsky Cathedral of the UOC, Glukhov

Officials of the town of Glukhov in the Sumy region call on the priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to move into the newly created OCU. Mayor Michel Tereshchenko puts a direct and categorical question: “When will you transfer to a new church?” Protopriest Alexey Rodionov, dean of the Glukhov district, told the UOJ.

This happened on December 17, during the on-site meeting of the Expert Council of the Ministry of Culture, which gathered here to discuss state-church relations after the “Unification Council”.

According to Father Alexey, members of the assembly stressed that in Ukraine there is now a new church structure officially and transition into it is a matter of national security.

The dean noted that all Glukhov churches of the UOC belong to the communities of the canonical Church – and are not in temporary use. However, the mayor does not pay attention to it. The day before the meeting of the council, Michel Tereshchenko said that a comprehensive inventory of UOC churches was expected in the town and warned of possible provocations.

“According to my information, artificially created unrest with unpredictable consequences is possible in Glukhov,” he wrote on his Facebook page. “Now, on the eve of receiving the Tomos, the Ministry of Culture has sent a whole group of several dozen people for inventory. It is clear that from the side of the MP (UOC – Ed.) they will be resisted by all possible methods, including with the involvement of fanatically-minded armed people. As it happens, we have repeatedly observed."

At the same time, Tereshchenko could not answer the direct question of the dean why the mayor spreads flagrant lies.

On December 15, under the leadership of President Poroshenko, the “Unification Council” was held in Kiev, at which the schismatic structures of the UOC-KP and the UAOC merged into the so-called Orthodox Church of Ukraine. None of the Local Orthodox Churches, except the Patriarchate of Constantinople, recognized this “Council”. However, the work on the forcible transfer of canonical UOC communities to a new church structure has intensified in the regions of Ukraine.

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