A commission that voted for transferring the church to the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is taking inventory of the church’s property.
Supporters of the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine have seized the cathedral church in the city of Khmelnitsky, the UNN Ukrainian agency reported on Sunday.
According to UNN, a commission that voted for transferring the church to the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is taking inventory of the church’s property.
Earlier in the day, activists who gathered near the Khmelnitsky cathedral church after an incident with a man in a uniform voted to transfer the church to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Prior to that, they held a meeting, with 1,235 participants being registered.
The information department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church reported on Sunday morning that a man wearing a military uniform had staged a provocation in the Khmelnitsky cathedral church during the Sunday service. He was detained by the police on hooliganism charges. The man reportedly said that he was not a serviceman. Later, the Obshchestvennoye media outlet said he had been discharged from the army due to poor health.
Khmelnitsky Mayor Alexander Sinchishin said that following the incident the city’s authorities would seize all land plots belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the policemen who had detained the man would be fired.
According to the police, the clergy of the Khmelnitsky cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have been charged with hooliganism.
Source: Tass