Sectarians Attempt to Seize Church in Ternopil Region
According to the Buchach Eparchy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), the members of the so-called Dognal’s Group (“Pidhirtsi monks”) attempted to seize the Church of Transfiguration of the Lord in Chortkiv.
Two persons who are excommunicated by the Catholic Church, Vasyl Hitiuk and Richard Shpirzhik, and twenty nuns subordinated to the self-proclaimed “bishops” of the Dognal’s Group and several other accompanying persons participated in the action.
The press center of the Buchach Eparchy reported that a “Neoplan” bus full of “fighters” from Lviv (about 50 persons) came to help the Dognal’s Group.
According to the report, the faithful of all the parishes of the UGCC of Chortkiv were gathered near the church and did not allow its seizure. During the clash between them and the Dognal's Group members, two faithful were injured (brain concussion, numerous haematomas) and are in the local hospitals. The police helped to drive the members of the Dognal’s Group into the bus and convoyed them out of the town.
Background Information
Ex-monks Antonin Illia Dognal, Richard-Methodii Shpirzhik, and Samuil R. Oberhauser earlier belonged to the Czech Delegature of Basilian fathers liquidated in 2004. The fourth father, Vasyl Markian Hitiuk, is Ukrainian. They conduct their activity in the village of Pidhirtsi in the Lviv region.
The Collegial Tribunal of the Sokal-Zhovkva Eparchy passed a sentence that the mentioned priests and Fr. Robert Oberhauser should be excommunicated. In 2009, the Apostolic Signatura passed a sentence to exclude the mentioned monks from the Basilian Order. The sentence was executed on the basis of the decisions of the protoarchimandrite and the council of the order.
