Human rights activist: UOC churches seized by OCU stand empty

An assistant to a Kamyanets-Podilskyi city councillor, Viktoriya Kokhanovska, said in a video message on her Facebook page that churches seized by the schismatics in various eparchies of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are left without parishioners and standing empty. 

"Churches are being taken away, and they are empty," Kokhanovska said and explained that UOC priests, from whom the church building was taken away, serve in a clay-walled hut or at home.

"Those people who believe in God build a clay-walled hut or rent a house, and they have grace there, peace and further prayer. They turn to God," said Victoria Kokhanovska and drew attention to the futile attempts of the schismatics to take away the faith of such people.

"You want to come, break the lock, take the property, but you can't do it, because breaking the faith is unrealistic. I have never had such a thing in my practice. You want to take away the material to give them the spiritual, it's ridiculous," the lawyer said and noted that the supporters of the OCU lock up the seized shrines with everything they can find – chains from dog houses and even cattle clips.

"You are fighting windmills that cannot be beaten. They give you all the icons, churches, take everything – just pray, go to those churches, but you do not go there. You get what you want, and you do not know what to do with it, you do not even know ‘Our Father’," Victoria Kokhanovska said to the supporters of the OCU and noted that they do not go to the seized church even once a week.

"You just locked the churches, what have you achieved?" the human rights activist resumed.

Viktoriya Kokhanovska stressed that both the officials who ban the UOC and those who break the doors of the church will face trial. As reported, the lawyer explained how to protect the rights of the communities affected by church raiding.

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