UOC (MP) tries to win a temple of UOC-KP in Transcarpathians by court action

The UOC (MP) is trying to win by court action a temple in Pylypets village, where the community has moved to the UOC-KP. On behalf of the Khust Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), a newly registered community of the UOC (MP) in Pylypets village has filed a claim to cancel the re-registration of the local community as an entity of the Kyivan Patriarchate. Press-secretary of Khust Diocese Archpriest Ivan Rozman was quoted as saying this by Zakrpattya online.

According to the diocesan representative, after the community of the Nativity of Theotokos in Pylypets village was re-registered as an entity of the Kyiv Patriarchate, the community of the UOC (MP) completely renewed its leadership and chose the new “twenty” of parish activists. By now, the renewed congregation has appealed the court ruling of Transcarpathian Regional State Administration, according to which the community was re-registered as the one of the UOC-KP. The date of the first court hearing has not been determined so far.

As it was previously reported, in September 2015, at the request of Pylypets community, the regional authorities re-registered it, having changed its jurisdiction. Moreover, all the community documents have been retained by the twenty activists, who decided to move to the Kyiv Patriarchate. UOC (MP) believes that the government had to register one more religious community of a different jurisdiction and not to re-register the existing one by referendum.

It is known, on September 27, the UOC (MP) representatives in Pylypets tried to seize by force the temple of the community which moved to the UOC-KP.

This provoked a sharp statement to be made by the Transcarpathian diocese of the UOC-KP.

Further, the authorities reported that the UOC-KP and UOC (MP) clergymen reached an agreement over the conflict around the church in Pylypets.