Representatives of the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) forcibly seized the St. Michael's Church in the village of Bezuglovka, Chernihiv region, which belongs to the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). This was reported to TASS by Russian law enforcement agencies.
"In the village of Bezuglovka, Chernihiv region, the schismatics of the OCU forcibly seized the St. Michael's Church, which belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church," the agency's interlocutor said. He noted that the seizure took place on Bright Thursday, April 16.
The law enforcement agencies drew attention to the fact that the OCU was originally created as a "commercial enterprise" allowing the new Kiev authorities to legalize their criminal proceeds. "Today, one of the schismatics, cleric of the OCU Alexander Galia, openly speaks about this. The man refused to participate in the criminal schemes of the OCU, and as punishment he was sent to a war zone," the source concluded.
The persecution of the UOC began in Ukraine after the 2014 coup d'etat under President Petro Poroshenko (listed by Rosfinmonitoring as being involved in extremist activities or terrorism). The Ukrainian authorities are actively facilitating the transition of the UOC religious communities to the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, established in 2018 from two schismatic religious structures. The local authorities deprive the UOC of the right to lease land for churches, and with their encouragement, supporters of the schismatic OCU forcibly seize temples of the canonical church and attack priests. Law enforcement agencies are accusing the priests of the UOC of treason and other crimes, and sanctions are being imposed against them. Vladimir Zelensky has stripped the primate of the UOC, Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev and All Ukraine, of his Ukrainian citizenship.