OCU activists in vlg Dunayev: “Russian rats are here, we'll smoke them out”

By blocking access to the temple, activists of the OCU delivered a number of “arguments” against the UOC

By blocking access to the temple, activists of the OCU delivered a number of “arguments” against the UOC

The parishioners of the UOC temple of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki of the village of Dunayev, Kremenets district, Ternopol region, seized by the OCU supporters on February 10, gave details of the religion-based interfaith confrontation that divided their village.

The access of believers to the temple was blocked after the meeting, which the headmaster of the school held in the local House of Culture. In the video published by the First Cossack channel, one can hear the OCU supporters, who are standing in front of the church, speak of the clergy of the canonical Church as “Russian rats that need to be smoked out”, as well as their other “arguments” against the UOC and its believers.

Also, before the meeting, supporters of the transition conducted a survey in the village, collecting signatures in support of the new church structure.

“They were deceitful: they conducted a survey of who was against “paying taxes imposed by Russia”. Then they stopped letting us into the temple, blocked the entrance. Father Anatoly, who had served here for 29 years, was called the Moscow priest (...) The police do not react at all,” said a parishioner of the seized church, adding that now the UOC believers have to pray in a small house on the temple grounds. At the same time, the invaders, who did not use to go to church at all, took possession of the church simply because they wanted to have a “Ukrainian temple” for themselves.

As the UOJ reported, the believers in Dunayev village remain loyal to the canonical Church.

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