Prayer vigil held in Vinnitsa in defense of the rights of communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

A prayer vigil took place on December 3, 2021, in defence of the rights of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church communities in Vinnitsa, Ukraine. It was held at the building of the Regional State Administration by the faithful from villages of the Murovanye Kurilovtsy district and priests serving in the provincial center. According to the Pravoslavnaya zhizn’ [Orthodox Life] website, By the vigil they expressed their protest against the unlawful actions of the head of the Vinnitsa Directorate for the Affairs of Ethnicities and Religions Igor Saletsky who has re-registered communities of the canonical Church in favour of the schismatic ‘OCU’.

“It became known on December the 2nd that I. A. Saletsky resumed the procedure for re-registering the UOC community at the Snitkov village, Mogilev-Podolskyi Region”, explains the website of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church diocese of Vinnitsa, “It has become the last straw for the faithful’s patience. Moreover, Saletsky has ignored the decision of the Kiev Administration Court to ban any registration actions at the Snitkov village (as well as at Berbovets, Kotyuzhany and Bakhtyn). People wanted to express for the umpteenth time their protest against the actions of this impudent official”.

The action at the Regional State Administration was announced by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church dioceses of Vinnitsa and Mogilev-Podolskyi in their official resources. By the noon of December 3, the clergy and parishioners of the Murovanye Kurilovtsy deanery of the diocese of Mogilev-Podolskyi were expected to come to Sobornaya Street, but the day before, representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and local police intimidated the bus drivers and prohibited them from driving the faithful to Vinnitsa for the prayer vigil. Many had to go to the regional center on their own, but not all of those who wished to participate get there.

At the building of the Vinnitsa Regional State Administration, the priests held a prayer service.

In addition, a briefing was given by secretary of the Diocese of Vinnitsa Archimandrite Arkady (Senchukovsky), dean of the Murovanye Kurilovtsy church district of the diocese of Mogilev-Podolskyi Archpriest Vasily Balan and leader of the Miryane [Laity] public organization Vasily Makarovsky.

After the action, its participants handed over their demands and petitions to chairman of the Vinnitsa Reginal State Administration Sergey Borzov through his deputy. The main demand is the dismissal of Igor Saletsky from office, as he stirs up inter-confessional discord in the region and unlawfully re-registers communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

DECR Communication Service