In Brykiv, OCU raiders want to dishouse the widow of a deceased UOC priest

The late Archpriest Viktor Omelchuk. Photo: UOJ

OCU activists, who seized the temple of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the village of Brykiv in the Kremenets district of the Ternopil region in 2019 and tried to expel Archpriest Viktor Omelchuk and his family from the church house, resumed their attacks a few days after the unexpected death of the priest. The UOJ was told about this by the UOC believers in the village of Brykiv, who built a new church in honor of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious with the help of benefactors.

According to the believers, the priest served in the village since 1992 and lived for almost 30 years with Presbytera Elena and the children in a church house. After the seizure of the temple, the raiders threatened Father Viktor and his family, broke into the house demanding that it be handed over to the OCU. But since the schismatics had no legal grounds, they were not able to evict the priest.

On January 8, 2022, Archpriest Viktor Omelchuk reposed in the Lord due to complications caused by COVID-19. The funeral service for the deceased cleric was led by the ruling bishop, Metropolitan Sergiy of Ternopil and Kremenets.

Immediately on January 10, OCU activists began to threaten the 61-year-old widow and even went to the head of the local OTG demanding to give them the house and evict the family of the deceased rector. As the parishioners said, the woman simply has nowhere to go, so the local believers of the UOC will defend her legal right to live in the church house and will never leave the widow without support.

As the UOJ reported, a wooden church in Brykiv village was built by the efforts of parishioners back in 1800. In February 2019, the raiders of the OCU  seized the temple from the believers of the UOC. However, the religious community continued divine services in the rector’s house.

At the end of 2020, Metropolitan Sergiy consecrated a new church for the raided community of the UOC in Brykiv.

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