Parish of Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate in Donetsk at Risk of Takeover

As of Wednesday, parishioners in Kamianka have to barricade themselves in their church. They fear not only for the church but also for their health and even life, as "criminal-looking persons, of whom one can expect anything in this situation, appeared in the village."

An attempt was made to take over the parish of the Resurrection of the Lord of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP) of the village of Kamianka in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk Oblast, reads an official statement of the press service of the Kyivan Patriarchate.  A similar attack against a parish of the UOC-KP was registered on December 7 in the village of Rozdolne.

According to the document, rich businessmen from Donetsk together with representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate, including the senior priest of the Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in the settlement of Telmanove, attempted to hold an illegitimate "meeting of the residents of the village" in order to draw up documents and transfer the community of the Church of the Resurrection to the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate.

According to the report, representatives of the mentioned businessmen met with some residents of the village of Kamianka in order to pursuade them to participate in the meeting and vote for the decision to transfer to the Moscow Patriarchate.

"In exchange for such a decision, promises were made to install an expensive heating system for the church, paint the cupolas golden, etc. At the same time, religious hatred was stirred: the mentioned persons humiliated the Kyivan Patriarchate and its head," reads the statement of the Kyivan Patriarchate.

The documents says that active parishioners and the parish priest of the UOC-KP objected to such a transfer and clearly stressed that they remain part of the Kyivan Patriarchate.

According to the press service of the UOC-KP, the situation regarding the Parish of the Resurrection remains tense. "As of December 8, parishioners in Kamianka have to barricade themselves in their church. They fear not only for the church but also for their health and even life, as criminal-looking persons, of whom one can expect anything in this situation, appeared in the village," reports the press service of the UOC-KP.    

In view of the situation, the UOC-KP has called the police, politicians and public activists to pay attention to the events connected with the parishes of the Kyivan Patriarchate in the Donetsk Oblast and to prevent "upsetting of the social and denominational peace in Ukraine for the sake of the Moscow 'Russian World.'"