Brovary parish remains faithful to UOC after their cathedral seizure
The rector of the cathedral, Father Oleksandr Levchuk, spoke in detail about the seizure of the Petropavlovsky Cathedral by activists and OCU "chaplains".
Rector Archpriest Oleksandr Levchuk and the faithful of Sts. Peter and Paul's Cathedral of the UOC in Brovary, Kyiv region, recorded a video appeal after the seizure of their shrine by "priests" of the OCU on April 30, 2025, reports a UOJ correspondent.
"Today in our town, Brovary, a very troubling event took place. At five in the morning, unknown young men in tracksuits arrived along with some so-called ‘priests’ who referred to themselves as chaplains. They cut the locks on the gates, entered the church grounds, chained the gates shut, and hung their own locks. Then they drilled out the locks, opened the doors, entered the cathedral, opened the doors to the Quick to Hearken chapel, and unlocked all the other premises located on our church property," said the rector, Father Oleksandr.
The UOC priest reported that when the faithful came to the church to perform the service, a prayer for the warriors, which they offer every day, they were not even allowed onto the territory.
The rector added that the unfamiliar people did not allow the parishioners who built this cathedral, who had been attending this church for many years, putting their souls and prayers into it.
The faithful called the police. Law enforcement officers accepted the appeal from the UOC faithful and drew up protocols.
However, the believers were only allowed to take their personal belongings. The priests took the Shroud and the Antimins from the altar. "They said that was all. Goodbye," he added.
According to the raiders, the faithful will be able to come for prayer in three days, on Saturday, and until then they were ordered not to even try to enter their cathedral.
"We hope only for God's mercy, that the Lord will hear our prayers. We believe that the Lord, through our humble prayers, will return this shrine to our people, to our parishioners," the archpriest noted.
The rector of the parish emphasized that not a single parishioner of the cathedral expressed a desire to join the OCU. According to him, the clergy of the cathedral repeatedly asked the Orthodox Christians if they wanted to change jurisdiction, and each time the faithful confirmed that they remain in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
"Our parish remains faithful to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. And these raider fraudsters, whom no one knows, come and take it away from the people..." said Father Aleksandr.
The clergyman reported that the parish will continue to function and will find a place for prayer.
As the UOJ wrote, about a month ago, the clerics of the Dumenko structure led by Oleksandr Liman already tried to break the locks and seize the shrine, but this attempt took place during the day, and the parishioners prevented the bandits.
At that time, the rector of the church Oleksandr Levchuk informed the faithful that on March 13, 2025, an illegal re-registration of the church from the UOC to the OCU took place. After that, representatives of the authorities demanded that the rector hand over the keys to the church.
