Ukrainian radicals from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine tried to seize the church in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in the village of Verbovets in Vinnitsa region on July 18
This was reported by the Information Centre of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine on its page in the social network Facebook. Before the attack, Igor Saletsky, head of the Department of Nationalities and Religious Affairs of the Vinnitsa Regional State Administration, illegally re-registered the parish to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine on July 12.
The clerics noted that among the invaders were people who had never even visited the church before and had nothing to do with the community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
“The priest and believers of the canonical Church were beaten and pushed away from their own temple, where they had been serving the Lord for years. A cross was ripped off the priest. The aggressive representatives of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine had a sharpened rebar with them and threatened that they would “slaughter like pigs” the parishioners of the church”, – a social media post said.
The church has been run by Archpriest Alexander Luchin for more than 20 years. Thanks to him and local believers, its premises have been restored and a refectory has been built.