Despite the constant pressure of the occupation authorities, on January 19, 2021, Metropolitan Klyment of Simferopol and Crimea celebrated the Divine Liturgy on the occasion of the feast of the Epiphany and the rite of the great consecration of water in the Cathedral Church in honor of Saints Volodymyr and Olga, Equal to the Apostles, in Simferopol.
This is reported by the OCU website.
After the service, Metropolitan Klyment greeted the faithful on the holiday and sprinkled them with blessed Epiphany water.
Last year, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine appealed to the UN Security Council to protect the Ukrainian community in the occupied Crimea and return Russia to the legal field.
According to Metropolitan Klyment, the Ministry of any priest in Crimea, if he is not registered on the territory of the Russian Federation, is considered "illegal missionary activity."
Over the past few months, the harassment of religious freedom has become violent: for example, the center of the Crimean Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is the Cathedral of Saints Volodymyr and Olga in the city of Simferopol as looted after a "court decision". The occupying state also demands the demolition of the church in Yevpatoria.