The Russian occupiers continue to oust the Orthodox Church of Ukraine from the life of Ukrainians in Crimea. A total of 7 parishes of the OCU and 4 priests of the OCU have remained in the occupied Crimea today.
A lawyer of the Regional Center for Human Rights, Mykola Kikkas, spoke about the egregious situation, presenting the results of a study of the negative impact of the occupying state on the Ukrainian national identity and cultural heritage of Ukraine in Crimea. This is reported by Information resistance while citing qirim.news.
Mykola Kikkas said that the invaders continue to oust the clergy and faithful from the peninsula, persecuting them and seizing church property. The reason is their condemnation of Russian aggression.
"In 2014, from the very beginning, the Church [of the OCU] categorically condemned Russian aggression and stated in the public space that it would not perceive the Russian government as anything other than temporary and occupation. And, accordingly, as they say, that's how it started," Kikkas explained.
"In 2014, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine had 45 parishes on the territory of the Crimean Peninsula, 26 churches, and the staff of the Crimean diocese had 14 clergymen. Today, according to various estimates, there are only seven parishes, eight church premises and only four clergymen left," the lawyer said.
At the same time, according to Kikkas, there is a case when an OCU priest is forced to travel to the occupied peninsula, because he cannot stay there permanently, due to pressure from the Russian occupation authorities.
"The priest performs the service on a shift basis since he cannot stay on the territory of Crimea because he does not have an occupation passport. He is forced to travel from mainland Ukraine to carry out activities," the lawyer said.