On June 5, the Holy Annunciation Church, which is in use of the religious community of the UOC (the Moscow Patriarchate), was blocked and sealed under public pressure.
The Eparchy of Ivano-Frankivsk of the UOC (MP) made a statement about the events linked with the contentious Holy Annunciation Church in Kolomyya.
Clergymens of the UOC (MP) call on the following persons and entities to intervene without delay: the President of Ukraine, police, the leadership of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Apostolic Nuncio in Ukraine, Archbishop Claudio Gucerotti, Pope Francis, international human rights organizations
The authors of the appeal note that the situation that has developed around the Holy Annunciation Church of Kolomyia is impossible for a state governed by the rule of law
“If human rights cannot be secured either by court decisions, by law-enforcement agencies, or by the Guarantor of the Constitution of Ukraine, then how can we talk about the security of society. Illegal capture of the Holy Annunciation Church, in the event of its impunity, can serve as a precedent for further violations of the rule of law in society,” the document states.
Representatives of the Eparchy of Ivano-Frankivsk of the UOC (MP) emphasize that for their part they will involve the whole set of national and international legal measures to restore the violated law.
It has already been reported that the Eparchy of Kolomyia of the UGCC also issued a statement about the events concerning this contentious temple in recent days.
For a peaceful settlement of this situation, the Greek Catholics propose the creation of a four-party commission, which would include the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration; the Kolomyia executive committee, the Diocese of Kolomyia of the UGCC and the Diocese of Ivano-Frankivsk UOC-MP (MP). The clergy of the UGCC also urged their believers not to fall for to provocations, to show Christian respect to representatives of other denominations.
As RISU has reported, on June 5, the Holy Annunciation Church, which is in use of the religious community of the UOC (the Moscow Patriarchate), was blocked and sealed under public pressure.
Kolomyia residents demanded that the church be returned to the Diocese of Kolomyia-Chernivtsi of the UGCC. Representatives of Kolomyia City Council, non-governmental organizations, religious communities of different denominations set up a working group and agreed that they would decide on the fate of the church in an amicable manner.
On June 7, 2017, Kolomyia City Mayor signed Decree No. 206-p “On the formation of a working group on confessional affiliations of the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin.” As a result, the working group determined the hours of worship in the church for the denominations. However, the community of the UOC (MP) appealed against the court ruling.
The court decision has caused outrage of the city community. On October 18, military chaplains arranged a round-the-clock duty and prayer near the church.
On October 22, at the walls of the Annunciation Cathedral there was a clash between the blockaders and representatives of the UOC (MP) who tried to get into the temple.