In Butin village, first divine services are held in a temporary UOC temple (PHOTO)

On August 9 in the village of Butin, Zbarazh district, Ternopol region a special feast took place. Believers of the UOC, after a nearly three-year hiatus, again gathered in a room, even though a temporary church, to pray to the Holy Healer Panteleimon. Archpriest Georgy Prokopchuk, representative of the Ternopol Eparchy of the UOC, informed the correspondent of the UOJ about this event.

"Faith does not only live in the hearts of men, despite external circumstances, but gets even more strengthened and fruit-bearing. May the Lord keep the Ternopol flock!,” Father Georgy wrote on his Facebook page.

On that day, many believers from several neighboring villages gathered in Butin. With the blessing of Metropolitan Sergiy of Ternopol and Kremenets, deanery archpriest of Zbarazh region, Andrey Garasim, led the divine service.

Since autumn of 2014, the temple of the Holy Archistratigus Michael in the village of Butin has been captured by the Kiev Patriarchate. Since May 2017, the last temple of the canonical Church in this district, St. Peter and Paul church of the neighboring village of Kinakhovtsy, was also occupied by Filaret adherents. In addition, these communities of the UOC lost their status as legal entities, since their statutes were re-registered in favor of the Kyiv Patriarchate.

While the consideration of the conflicts in courts and law enforcement structures is pending, both communities that have lost their temples have united to pray in a temporary room. According to the senior priest, father Vitaly Gurev, it is already accommodated as a prayer room, thanks to the donations of other communities, including from neighboring eparchies, and from the believers themselves. Before that, people were compelled to gather for the Liturgy in the house of the church elder.