UOC clergy appeal to RMA head over church seizure
The Odesa clergy called on Regional Military Administration head Oleh Kiper to intervene in the forcible seizure of St. Alexander Nevsky Church.
After praying together before the wonderworking Kasperov Icon of the Mother of God, the clergy of the Odesa Eparchy of the UOC issued an official appeal to the regional authorities. The appeal was prompted by the seizure of the church in honor of Right-Believing Prince Alexander, located next to a military hospital.
Representatives of the eparchy said the holy site had been taken over through a “raider seizure” with the support of armed men and employees of a private security company. According to the clergy, the attackers behaved aggressively during the seizure: “Security forces came and showed aggression toward our clergy – they strangled and beat them, and some parishioners were even taken away by ambulance.”
The eparchy stressed that this parish had been restored under the leadership of Metropolitan Agafangel over the course of 26 years. The clergy noted that believers of the canonical Church are not enemies of the state and actively help Ukrainian defenders. “We are not enemies, and you know this. And it is sorrowful and very painful for us to live through this moment now.”
The clergy asked Oleh Kiper to help preserve interfaith peace and prevent any further escalation of the conflict. “We are not enemies. We ask you to preserve interfaith peace. We will continue to pray to the Lord that we may live in peace and love,” representatives of the eparchy concluded.
Earlier, the OCU said it would rename the seized St. Alexander Nevsky Church in Odesa.
