Faithful in Vyshhorod officially declare rejection of OCU cleric

The St. Panteleimon community of the UOC in Vyshhorod held a meeting and unanimously rejected the candidacy of OCU cleric Vitalii Bosenko, who, according to forged documents, claimed the position of parish rector. The decision was announced by parish priest Archpriest Dionisii Denysenko in his Facebook post.

According to the statement, 220 parishioners signed the protocol confirming their decision to decline Bosenko’s appointment as rector of the Orthodox parish.

The priest emphasized that the assembly was held honestly and voluntarily, without external interference – only members of the religious community participated and determined the fate of their church.

“Let me remind you: the meeting we held was honest and truthful. There were no outsiders, no coercion, no politics – only the parish deciding its own destiny. And the number of people present was no smaller than at the loud gatherings in the stadiums where they proclaimed ‘transitions’ to the OCU. Because back then at the stadiums, everyone came – Catholics, OCU supporters, even nonbelievers… But we gathered as our own religious community, in our faith, in our church,” he wrote.

The parish rector also reminded readers that the community had formally expressed its position at the parish meeting held on October 19.

Archpriest Denysenko stressed that the parish is not fighting against people but standing for truth and spiritual principles, affirming that the Church is not a place for political games but for serving God and saving human souls.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the St. Panteleimon community in Vyshhorod voted to remain faithful to the UOC.