UOC church seized after OCU's and UGCC's provocation at soldier's funeral

The UOC Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Photo: @people_of_action

In the village of Vidniv, Lviv region, on October 3, 2024, a territorial assembly was held, during which the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, previously belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), was "transferred" to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). This was reported on the Lviv Regional Administration's Telegram channel.

“Today, the religious community of the village of Vidniv in the Kulikov territorial community decided at a general meeting to sever ties with the Moscow Patriarchate and join the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, this religious community has been a center of disputes and conflicts,” reads the statement.

The Lviv Regional Administration confirmed that the catalyst for this action was a recent conflict in the UOC church, instigated by representatives of the OCU and UGCC. On October 14, during the funeral of local resident and Armed Forces of Ukraine serviceman Mykhailo Sharpilo, who was honored by the Greek Catholic Church, supporters of the UGCC brought the deceased’s body into the church and pressured the UOC priest to perform the funeral according to the Greek Catholic rite within the Orthodox church.

“The refusal by the Moscow Patriarchate priest to conduct the funeral rite for a Defender of Ukraine who died in the war became the catalyst for this community’s final decision to leave the Moscow structure. The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Vidniv (1738), which is a national architectural monument, was the last place of worship in the Lviv region owned by a religious community in unity with the Moscow Patriarchate,” the administration wrote.

They also added that “seven more religious communities in the Lviv region remain under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church. We hope they rid themselves of this shame as soon as possible.”

Previously, it was reported that the newly formed OCU community in the village of Vidniv, Lviv region, had filed a court case to cancel the UOC community’s ownership certificate for the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

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