In Chernihiv region, the first community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate has transferred to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The rector of St Catherine Church (OCU) in Chernihiv, Fr Yevhen Orda, said it on his Facebook page, UNIAN reports.
In Chernihiv region, the first community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate has transferred to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The rector of St Catherine Church (OCU) in Chernihiv, Fr Yevhen Orda, said it on his Facebook page, UNIAN reports.
“Chernihiv region joined the process of unification – the village of Olenivka of Borznyany district returned to the OCU. Well done! We made this decision,” wrote the priest.
According to the head of Borznyany district council, Victor Horbashchenko, yesterday residents of the village of Olenivka decided to become part of the OCU.
“Actually, the issue was put on the agenda, it was discussed and a decision was made. The representatives of the OCU and the Russian Orthodox Church did not speak. There was no coercion or confrontation. There were people who felt it necessary to join the fold of the Ukrainian Church,” he said.
Horbashchenko said that the decision was voluntary, and everything else is political intrigues and the desire to keep what you have. Yesterday, a local priest of the former UOC MP, Oleksandr Hladysh, told reporters that the local elders were allegedly not voting for the decision to go to the OCU. In his opinion, only 4-6 inhabitants of Olenivka voted for the transition to the OCU. The village of Olenivka is home to about a thousand people. The church in Olenivka belonged to the former Nizhyn Diocese of the UOC-MP.