In our Own Eyes. In Zaluhiv Village the UOC Faithful Protect their Church from the Right Sector (VIDEO)

The first wave of the upcoming aggression swept Volyn region. On November 14, in the village of Zaluhiv, Ratne district, there was an attempt to seizure an Orthodox church. In the morning, about 9:00, representatives of the Right Sector began to arrive at the gates of the church. They lined up in front of the religious building and demanded to be allowed into the sanctuary under pretence to pray. The soldiers were accompanied by the Kiev Patriarchate representatives from neighboring villages and a small local community of the UOC-KP supporters. 

 The senior priest of the church, Father Volodymyr Kovtach said that the Right Sector representatives arrived in 11 cars. The UOC priest also said that representatives of the Kiev Patriarchate tried to persuade him to move to their denomination. 

The first wave of the upcoming aggression swept Volyn region. On November 14, in the village of Zaluhiv, Ratne district, there was an attempt to seizure an Orthodox church. In the morning, about 9:00, representatives of the Right Sector began to arrive at the gates of the church. They lined up in front of the religious building and demanded to be allowed into the sanctuary under pretence to pray. The soldiers were accompanied by the Kiev Patriarchate representatives from neighboring villages and a small local community of the UOC-KP supporters. 

The senior priest of the church, Father Volodymyr Kovtach said that the Right Sector representatives arrived in 11 cars. The UOC priest also said that representatives of the Kiev Patriarchate tried to persuade him to move to their denomination. 

A traditional raider scenario didn’t work this time. The Right Sector representatives didn’t expect the UOC community to be so numerous. The Orthodox faithful surrounded the church and didn’t allow the unwelcome guests to enter the sanctuary. The Right Sector didn’t offer an active resistance. Moreover, the police officers who were present managed to stabilize the situation and restore the order. The usual cross-talk ended with the men leaving the grounds. 

A responsible representative for the regulation of religious conflicts in Volyn region and protection of the rights of believers, priest Oleg Tochynsky comments on the situation: "They demanded that the church should be open because they wanted to go to pray. It is clear that people know what is going on in Ukraine in this situation. Women and other parishioners of the church reacted accordingly - they stood on the porch, in front of closed doors, and didn’t let anyone in the church. The current situation ended up with verbal skirmishes which broke out between confronting groups, but we do not know what to expect next as this event was quite unexpected. We do not know what to expect and how events will develop further". 

According to the villagers, an interfaith conflict in Zaluhiv has lasted for a long time. The Kyiv Patriarchate community registered here in the 90s and since then it has constantly claimed for St. Michael's church. They haven’t made any attempts to build their own church and have had no assigned senior priest so far. For about 10 years the activists of the Kiev Patriarchate have met their spiritual needs in the church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. 

The KP supporters have especially activated during the last two weeks when one of the villagers, Taisiya Filiuk, a mother of the head of the Court of Appeal in Volyn region, initiated collecting signatures for transfer of the church to the Kiev Patriarchate community.

 "All these interfaith conflicts have a clear political component, because the people who usually start it all are far from the Church, from the history of the Church. They are not aware of what the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is, how the Kyiv Patriarchate appeared. Most of them do not even realize that the "Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate" used to be the Primate of the UOC, once was a member of the Church. People are unaware of what caused him to make a dissent", – commented the priest Oleg Tochynsky. 

A strange coincidence turned out to be an appointment of a new senior priest of St. Michael's church two weeks ago. 22-year-old Father Volodymyr, from the very first days of his ministry was met with hostility by the Kyiv Patriarchate.

In opposition to the KP activity, the religious community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has also begun to collect signatures of all members of the congregation, which includes not only the residents of Zaluhiv village, but parishioners of the other 4 neighboring villages where there is no Orthodox church. 

Now the congregation is alternately guarding the church, even at night, for fear of further provocations, but with the hope that they will be able to protect their sanctuary. "We trust in God. God’s truth is with us. And we shall overcome everything, the main thing is that the Church is with us, "- firmly outlined their position the senior priest of the church, Father Volodymyr.