In Rivne the UAOC Community and Leadership Continue to Settle Conflict over the St. Nicholas Church

РІВНЕ – A meeting in Rivne between faithful parishioners of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) and the Archimandrite Mstyslav (Huk) ended with no result. According to the hierarch, one of his main tasks in the Rivne region is to settle the conflict that has been going on between the church’s community and the leadership of the church for more than two years now, reports ZІК.

After a service, the archimandrite decided to meet witz the parishioners and tolerantly hear all their accusations and dissatisfaction. The meeting with the clergy was also attended by representatives of the Association of Veterans of Afghanistan of the Rivne Oblast as the senior priest of the church is himself a veteran.

The veterans warned the clergy against the possible selling of the church, which has been discussed for a long time. The head of the City Association of Veterans of Afghanistan, Vasyl Stadniichuk, reported that “for us this church is special as it contains a board with the names of all the representatives of Rivne Oblast that died in that war. Fr. Ivan Polianytsia constantly conducts memorial services for the repose of the dead.  And we will not, you must know, allow the selling of the church or the offence our senior priest!” said Stadniichuk.

Representatives of the community of the church reported that on July 9, the Economic Court is to announce its decision regarding the right of ownership to the building. The actions of the community and the clergy of the UAOC will depend on it.

According to the community of the church, the conflict started in the beginning of the 90s when a session of the Rivne Council passed a resolution to transfer the building to the Rivne-Volyn Eparchy, which did not legally exist at that time. The initiator of the transfer was the community of the UAOC, whose successor is the St. Nicholas Church of the UAOC. Now the community asks the court to annul that decision as the eparchial department did not exist or act as a legal person then.

On the other hand, the leadership of the UAOC has other documents that do not completely confirm the community’s arguments. According to them, the “believers” spread rumors that Bishop Makarii himself seeks to sell the building. The bishop, however, in the presence of the secretary of the city council, Yurii Torhun, and others assured everyone that it is not true and asked that documents of the right of ownership be returned to him in order to privatize the land for the needs of the eparchy of UAOC. The press secretary of the UAOC on June 29 gave an official commentary in this regard.