The parish of the Peter and Paul Church, belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in Khoriv in the Rivne region, met in a tent on Sunday. They did not have access to their church because it was taken from them.
Believers of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which seceded from the UOC, occupied the church building a month ago, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church reports. Before that, the UOC believers were already banned from their building, as the local authorities sealed it.
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Therefore, UOC members had to find a different place of worship. They set up a tent in the garden of Archpriest Yakov Derkach, who belongs to the parish. The first service in the tent was led by Archpriest Viktor Zemlanyy, the secretary of the Rivne Diocese. Several other UOC clergy and laymen attended to show support for the parish.
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Rejoice
“I wanted to cry and rejoice. I have mixed feelings because, on the one hand, we were left without our native church in which we grew up, and on the other hand, we have followed Christ”, parishioner Iryna Shabatina says to the press service of the Rivne Diocese.
“You and I, like no one else, feel what the real Church means”, Archpriest Viktor Zemlanyy said during his service. “The church created by Christ is invincible to the devil. And you are living proof of that.”
