In Zabolottia, Chernivtsi hierarch celebrates temple feast with persecuted community

Metropolitan Meletiy visited the St. Elijah community, which has to pray in an adapted room after the seizure of the church.
On August 1, 2025, on the eve of the feast of the Prophet Elijah, the UOC parish in the village of Zabolottia, Bukovyna, held a solemn service with the participation of the ruling bishop, reports kozakTv1.
Metropolitan Meletiy of Chernivtsi and Bukovyna visited the community to share with the faithful their first patronal feast after the loss of the church.
The faithful of the UOC celebrate the feast in an adapted room after losing their historical church. The community had to organize a temporary place for services outside the walls of their native shrine.
The presence of Metropolitan Meletiy became an important support for the affected community on the day of their heavenly patron – the Holy Prophet Elijah. The bishop, participating in the service, demonstrated solidarity with his flock.
Let us recall, on May 30, 2025, clerics and activists of the OCU, with the support of the police, broke into the territory of the UOC's Elijah Church in the village of Zabolottia in Bukovyna and seized the church.