In the Kyiv region, a “hunt” has been declared on communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that conduct services in adapted premises

Regional media outlets in Pereyaslav (Kyiv region) are demanding that communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, whose churches have been seized by supporters of the OCU, be prohibited from conducting services in adapted premises. Opponents of the UOC in Pereyaslav believe that in this way the communities of the canonical Church violate sanitary and fire safety standards, and that the law “On Freedom of Conscience” allegedly prohibits religious events in unsuitable premises altogether. The corresponding publication is posted on the Proslav.info website.

The publication points out that the rector of St. Michael’s Church, Archimandrite Anthony (Ponomarenko), and the dean of the first Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyi church district, Archimandrite Nil (Semenets) of the Trinity Church in Pereyaslav, “decided to continue performing rites in any in any way and, de facto, anywhere, even without official permits and appropriate preparation of the premises.”

At the same time, the author of the text modestly conceals the fact that both churches were seized from the communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by supporters of the OCU with the full assistance of local authorities.

“There are reports from all over Ukraine about cases where clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) conduct services, baptisms, or other rites in premises that are completely unsuitable for this purpose (in private homes, garages, basements, sometimes even in commercial premises). Pereyaslav also has something to ‘boast’ about,” – the author of the article notes.

The publication notes that UOC priests, who, as a result of raider attacks on their communities by OCU supporters, organize parish life in adapted premises, violate fire and technical safety, pose sanitary risks, and generally have no right to gather outside church buildings.

“Freedom of religion does not mean the absence of rules. Conducting services in basements, apartments, or storage rooms is not only a violation of the law but also a direct threat to human life. Clergy must care not only for the spiritual well-being of believers, but also for their safety, and therefore must abandon the practice of “secret worship” in unsuitable places,” – the article concluded.

Earlier, Viktor Yelensky, head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, stated that even after the liquidation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the expropriation of its property, the state would not be able to restrict the right of believers to gather for prayer without registration and religious buildings.