Vaslovivtsi believers: If OCU wins, it will take away building, not Church
Since January 27, 2019, after an illegal vote for the “transfer” to the OCU, Vaslovivtsi believers of have been standing in prayer around the clock in their church.
“The church will never be taken away from us because the church is we,” emphasized the UOC believers of vlg. Vaslovivtsi in the Zastavna district, Chernivtsi region, who have not left the Holy Assumption Church for more than a year, as reported by Klymenko Time journalists, who were struck by the number of the faithful, including children, they met in the church.
As one of the residents of the village, a parishioner of the UOC Dominica said, the Holy Assumption Church, built in 1881, has never been closed, even during the years of the Great Patriotic War.
“Our Church of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos has stood an unshakable pillar. And we will ask God and the Mother of God, and it will not come to that. They will never take away the church. If they (supporters of the OCU – Ed.) are so determined and will defeat us, they will take this building, but the church is we. Where we are, there is the church. We have been praying day and night here. People come and go. In the middle of the church, we put the Psalter to read. One ends, another begins – day and night, day and night,” the parishioner stressed, adding that it made the believers akin.
We recall that on January 27, 2019, after an attempt to “transfer” the church to the OCU, the UOC community in Vaslovivtsi began a continuous prayer standing. During this period, the faithful have endured oppression from local authorities, bullying children at school, attempted seizure. The parishioners appealed to local authorities to stop pressure on the UOC and recorded a video message to the President of Ukraine.
