Rector of the UOC Church in Ryngach undergoes treatment after beating, - media

The press service of the Chernivtsi diocese reported that the rector of the captured church of the UOC in Ryngach, Chernivtsi region, Archpriest Serafim Dumitrovich, after being beaten by supporters of the OCU, got home and is being treated.

“As of 16:30, the rector of the church in honor of the Ascension of the Lord in the village of Ryngach of the UOC, thank God, arrived home,” the message says.

Earlier it was reported that on May 20, 2023, armed supporters of the OCU in balaclavas seized the Ascension Church of the UOC in the village of Ryngach in Bukovina and beat the rector Archpriest Serafim Dumitrovich and parishioners.

“The rector of the temple with the headman of the temple and another believer closed themselves in the temple. The raiders smashed the door of the temple, then broke the bars and entered the temple. In the temple, the raiders hit the abbot in the face, breaking his lip, threw him to the floor and started kicking him. During the beating, Father Seraphim’s phone was broken. The hard drive with the recording of the crime on CCTV cameras was taken away,” the message added.

“A little later, the raiders will tell the police that they hit Father Seraphim’s lip when they broke down the bars at the entrance to the temple. And supporters of the OCU in the village of Ryngach generally told the police that Father Seraphim himself fought seven times against the bars. A little later, an ambulance arrived to provide medical assistance to Archpriest Seraphim. We assume that the organizer of the seizure was citizen Roman Grischuk, who pretends to be a priest, but is not one, ”the press service of the Chernivtsi diocese noted.