Village council chairman held hostage by UOC MP priest supported by unknown persons in Volyn region

Unknown persons led by a clergyman of the UOC-MP have blocked the chairman and the secretary in the village council premises in the village of Bronnitsy, Kamin-Kashirsky District, in Volyn. They demand to see the lists of people who voted for their parish to change jurisdiction to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

This was reported by a local resident of Mrs. Halyna in a comment to Volynski Novyny News Agency.

According to her, the signatures on the transition from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine were collected in the village. 750 people voted for, 167 - against, or did not vote at all.

As 82% of parishioners supported the transition to the OCU, they gathered for a village council session, voted for the decision on jurisdiction change of their church. However, the local clergyman did not like it.

At 17:40, the Moscow-affiliated priest took two dozen people, looking like bandits, who arrived and blocked the chairman of the village council and secretary in the rooms. They demand the lists of people who voted for the church transition, and also require the decision to be canceled,” says the woman.

As reported by Volynski Novyny, village chairman of Bronnytsia Petro Koshelyuk, dozens of men led by priest Serhiy Holodyuk blocked him and the secretary in the village council building, accusing him of facilitating the transition of the community to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

“They say that I have put the signature in favor of the transition to the Ukrainian Church, so I am supporting them. But I signed in favor of it as a citizen, a resident of the village, and not as a council chairman! I was requested [to show] the lists of those who voted in favor, but they are in the hands of people. We agreed that tomorrow they will show them,” says Petro Koshelyuk.

According to him, the police arrived at the village council about 19:00, after which he and his secretary were released.

According to a resident of Kamen-Kashirsky, Bohdan Kozik, the instigator of this action declared that the community will enter the OCU «over his dead body!».

Subsequently, it became known that a priest and group of parishioners met in the village council with the chairman and the secretary of the village council.