OCU raiders seize UOC Resurrection Church in Zazymya

Member of the Executive Committee of the Brovary City Council Doroshenko participating in the seizure of the UOC temple. Photo: UOJ

On September 17, 2022, OCU supporters led by former UOC cleric Anatoliy Slinko seized the ancient Resurrection Church in Zazymya, reports the KozakTv1 Telegram channel.

On September 10, after the attempted seizure of the church by supporters of the OCU in Zazymya, they agreed to close the church and sit at the negotiating table.

"But the supporters of the OCU do not need a compromise, they need our temple," noted the KozakTv1 Telegram channel.

According to eyewitnesses, in the morning, supporters of the OCU gathered near the temple not to let in the UOC believers. The faithful prayed near the church, there were a lot of police on the spot that took the side of the OCU, and territorial defense members and representatives of the local authorities. At first, everything was peaceful, the UOC community prayed in the presence of the OCU supporters, but everything changed when a cleric of the OCU from the village of Pohreby appeared and started to sow enmity and call the UOC believers traitors, which triggered confrontation near the temple. The OCU followers behaved aggressively. One of the believers had his car tyre slashed. One of the activists tried to snatch a camera from the hands of the “1 Kozak” reporter. 

After this, the OCU members cut off the locks and seized the church.

As reported, prayer standing against the seizure of a UOC church started in Zazymya.

Read also

US priest urges defense of UOC amid persecution

Fr. Zachariah Lynch criticized plans to honor Zelensky at St. Nicholas Church in New York and urged Orthodox Christians to speak out against the persecution of the UOC.

Greek theologian condemns murder of monk at Sviatohirsk Lavra

Professor Georgios Foundoulakis of the University of Athens called the death of Monk Varsonofiy a tragedy for the entire Christian world.

US helps restore Orthodox church in Turkey after earthquake

Greece signs memorandum on protection of Jerusalem Patriarchate's shrines

Next week, the Greek Parliament will ratify a document on the protection of the cultural heritage of the Jerusalem Patriarchate.

Greek bishop calls imposition of same-sex marriage a threat

Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythera urged families to become a “domestic church” amid threats to the Christian family in Greek laws and school curricula.

Patriarch Bartholomew arrives in Budapest for opening of Orthodox center

The Ecumenical Patriarch has arrived in Hungary, where he will preside over the consecration of the Orthodox center "Phanarion."