Former UOC parish in Khmelnytskyi resent "pro-Ukrainian priest" of OCU

Meeting of OCU parishioners dissatisfied with Ivan Kulynych. Photo: screenshot from "33 kanal" YouTube channel

In Khmelnytskyi, parishioners of the OCU church of the Pochaiv Icon of the Mother of God (formerly the UOC church in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, which was seized by the OCU and renamed) are demanding the replacement of their priest, Ivan Kulynych.

According to the parishioners, the OCU "priest" does not pay sufficient attention to either the congregation or the sanctuary. The parishioners, who had previously actively campaigned for the church's "transition" to the OCU, stated that when the church was under the UOC jurisdiction, services were held regularly: on holidays and Sundays at 9 a.m., and on the eve at 5 p.m.

However, the absence of a church service on the feast day of John the Baptist caused particular outrage.

Ivan Kulynych explained that he had a valid reason for canceling the service on that holiday – it was the 7th anniversary of the death of Ukrainian hero Oleksiy Ishchuk.

He also noted that the service schedule remained unchanged: services are held on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as on weekdays when possible. Kulynych claims that the church is open every day, and the problem is that he is "periodically absent".

Nevertheless, Kulynych's "periodic absence" continues to cause dissatisfaction among parishioners.

They appealed to the "archbishop" of Khmelnytskyi and Shepetivka, Pavlo Yurysty, to replace the church's priest. However, they were told that the priest would not be replaced as there were no valid reasons for doing so:

"He is an experienced priest, has a pro-Ukrainian stance, and is one of the priests who joined the local Orthodox church. He has pro-Ukrainian views, life experience, and pastoral experience," Yurysty stated.

Father Ivan Kulynych assured journalists that "sister Stasia" is present at the church until evening and that parishioners can always contact him personally with any questions because he is "reachable by phone" and "sister Stasia is always available at the church."

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God Church in Khmelnytskyi was seized on April 5, 2023, by the efforts of the local authorities. The organizers were Khmelnytskyi City Council Deputy Vitaliy Pidhaichuk and Head of the City Department of Culture and Tourism Artem Romasiukov.

At the meeting held the day before, city authorities "appointed" Khmelnytskyi City Council Deputy Oleh Yanitskyi (from Mayor Symchyshyn's team) as the head of the parish council. In video materials from "Suspilne Khmelnytskyi", participants in the transition meeting admitted on camera that they had no connection to the religious community of the church.

On April 19, 2023, Deputy Head of Khmelnytskyi Regional State Administration Serhiy Tiurin renamed the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God Church to the Pochaiv Icon of the Mother of God Church by order No. 248. Resources close to the OCU claimed that the "old name of the church contained the phrase 'Kazan Icon of the Mother of God,' which is associated with the Russian city of Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan."

Additionally, as the UOJ wrote, on May 7, there were no parishioners at the Sunday "service" of the OCU in the seized UOC Kazan Icon of the Mother of God Church.

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