"I won’t demolish the church," - Metropolitan Klyment comments on the demand of Russian bailiffs

Metropolitan Klyment said this in a comment to Krym.Realii.

"Now this issue is being handled by lawyer Serhiy Zayets. He is collecting a package with the relevant documents. I'm not going to demolish the church. According to the representative of the president (representative of the president of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea), this issue is part of the UN resolution, so I will wait. The only thing is that tomorrow, November 4, is National Unity Day in Russia. And this evening, before the holiday begins, we must demolish the church," Metropolitan Klyment said.

Earlier, the representative office of the president of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea reported that on Tuesday, Metropolitan Klyment of the Crimean Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine received a package of documents from the Russian Federal Bailiff Service in the annexed Crimea with a demand to dismantle the church in honor of the Holy Dormition of the image of the Mother of God "Burning Bush" in Yevpatoria until November 3, 2020, and pay a fine of 50 thousand rubles.

President Zelenskyy condemns Russia's violations against the Crimean Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and its faithful and stated that these decisions "are aimed at ousting the Ukrainian Church from the temporarily occupied Crimean Peninsula."

Earlier, the head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and all Ukraine, appealed to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Cabinet of Ministers and law enforcement agencies to take measures to stop pressure on the OCU in Crimea.

In the Cathedral of Saints Volodymyr and Olga, Equal-to-the-Apostles, in Simferopol, the community of the Crimean Diocese of the UOC-KP, which passed into the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), celebrates the divine services.

The Russian Ministry of Property and Land Relations of Crimea in February 2019 demanded to vacate the cathedral building, explaining this by the expiration of the contract with the Crimean Diocese of the UOC-KP.

On June 28, the Russian-controlled Arbitration Court of Crimea ordered the transfer of the cathedral premises to the Russian Ministry of Property of Crimea for use. Archbishop Klyment of the Crimean Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine has said he will appeal this decision.

In mid-June, construction work began in the church building, initiated by the Ministry of Property of the Crimea and without the consent of the Crimean Diocese.