Crimes of the authorities against the UOC: three admissions of guilt
The repressions against the UOC communities are happening like clockwork: the authorities and the OCU commit the same crimes everywhere. Our case study shows which ones.
In Ukraine, UOC churches are seized so shamelessly and matter-of-factly that even the mayors of the cities themselves frankly admit it. A case in point today is Krasyliv, Khmelnytsky region. Here, on the evening of June 23, the authorities organized the seizure of the Resurrection Church. Moreover, the participation of the authorities is not an exaggeration at all.
Krasyliv’s chief commissioner brought along six military men with machine guns, the doors to the temple were cut off by a grinder personally by the director of the Khmelnytsky utility company Electrotrans Serhiy Bobukh, and everything was led by Deputy Mayor Maryna Slobodianiuk, city council deputy Yulia Babiychuk and secretary of the city council Iryna Morozovych.
But the raid failed. The parishioners rushed to their temple and defended the shrine.
Now first things first – why everything that happens around the temples of the UOC is a 100% violation of the laws, for which the authorities, and in particular the authorities of Krasyliv, will answer eventually.
Violation one: illegal ban on the UOC and deprivation of land
Nila Ostrovska, Mayor of Krasyliv, Khmelnytsky region: “Back in April, together with the deputies, we resolved at an extraordinary session that the Moscow Patriarchate be banned on the territory of our community. We have terminated the right to permanent use of land plots under the churches of the Moscow Patriarchate.”
Despite numerous decisions in different regions of the country, the "bans" of the UOC are absolutely illegal. Only the Rada can ban the Church, and only by a court decision.
The fact that this is illegal was spoken by the head of the State Ethnopolitics Yelensky, it was even written in the report of the UN High Commissioner.
The same concerns land plots. Land can be taken away only through the court. And Ostrovska on camera admits that her City Council has exceeded its authority.
Nila Ostrovska, Mayor of Krasyliv: “To some extent, we have violated our authority. This Church (UOC – Ed.) is not prohibited at the state level. But we banned it on the territory of the community.”
This is appearance with a plea of guilty #1.
Violation two: forgery, fake gatherings of a religious community
Nila Ostrovskaya, Mayor of Krasilov: “The residents of Krasyliv came to the general meeting, put their signatures, and expressed their desire for the UOC to be transferred to the OCU. Under the church building, since residents of the city were also not allowed into the territory, a meeting was held and signatures were collected for this church to also be transferred to the OCU.”
Let's pay attention to 2 points.
- Ostrovska says that it was not the parishioners who voted, but the urbanites.
- They voted on the road outside the gate because members of the religious community did not let them into the temple. And most importantly, Ostrovska says on camera that “there is no voluntary transfer,” that the religious community does not want to transfer to the OCU.
Nila Ostrovska: “Unfortunately, the rectors and parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church do not really want to voluntarily transfer to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Although I repeatedly met with the priest and persuaded him, unfortunately, there is no voluntary transition.”
Here the logic is simple – if the community does not want to move, then the people who are eager to enter its temple are invaders and raiders.
And this is appearance with a plea of guilty # 2
Violation three: inciting sectarian hatred
Nila Ostrovska: “Unfortunately, we are facing a situation where those who were friends, acquaintances, and even relatives among the urbanites have now ended up quarrelling over this church topic, which is very, very bad. We need to maintain unity at the front and in the rear, rather than sow such discord over the issue.”
The mayor herself admits that her actions and the actions of her subordinates provoked a surge of hostility in the city. That is, people lived peacefully, and when the authorities pit some residents of the city against others, it stirred up enmity. And it's not just talk.
“We will slaughter all the Moscow priests” – such an inscription appeared on the fence of another Krasyliv temple. The worst thing is that in a country at war, when hatred is literally in the air, this can easily be implemented, there are precedents. Moreover, in order to incite hatred against the parishioners, all the central media concocted a fake, as if there was a funeral service for a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Resurrection Church, and believers chanted “shame” on him and his family. Actually, there was no funeral service, and the parishioners protested against the invaders.
ICTV: "Supporters of the Russian Orthodox Church did not just defend the temple but dishonored the memory of the fallen defenders."
TSN: "Representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate offended the military."
Well, Krasyliv is just a vivid example of what the authorities, members of the OCU and the media are doing everywhere around the temples of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Despite the fact that only representatives of the UOC are tried and arrested, this will not always be the case. Ahead of us is a massive criminal caseload. There are no doubts as to that.
