UOC parish restored in Holiadyn: ‘Four families have returned to us’
After the church seizure, the UOC community in Holiadyn is building a new temple, and the former supporters of the OCU are returning to the parish, said the rector.
The UOC community in Holiadyn, Volyn region, which began the construction of a new church to replace the seized one by the OCU in the summer of 2021, thanks all interested parties for their support and financial aid. As the UOJ said in a commentary, the parish rector, Fr. Alexander Svinovei, during this time about 30 thousand hryvnias were raised for the community’s needs.
“We gave 15 thousand just to set electricity here. The rest was spent on materials. We are building on our own, whoever in the village has free time comes to us to help,” Father Alexander said.
After the authorities gave the former St. George Church of the UOC to the newly formed OCU community, believers in Holiadyn, like many other parishes affected by the raiding, had to move to a private house. One of the local residents, who moved from this village, gave her land plot for the future church. In November 2019, the construction site was consecrated, and the foundation was made in July 2021.
The UOC community in this village, like many years before, operates without official registration. Until 2019, a legal entity – a religious organization – was not created in Holiadyn, so the raiders of the temple simply registered their parish – without the so-called "transfer".
“Last year, four families from the OCU returned to us,” said the priest of the UOC.
Holiadyn is a small village on the outskirts of the former Shatsk district of Volyn (after the reform – the united Kovel district). There are only 68 households here, half of the residents during the organization of the OCU remained in the canonical Church. Those who left for the new structure soon regretted it. As the UOJ reported with reference to the publication of one of the OCU parishioners, the "true Ukrainian" life in St. George's Church ended very quickly, and therefore the supporters of the newly formed structure feel "guilty before Father Alexander, before their parents and fellow villagers".
Those wishing to help the community of the village of Holiadyn with the construction of the new church of the icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" can transfer funds to the PrivatBank card 5168755443317041.
As reported, the UOC spokesperson commented on the actions of radicals against the construction of new churches.
