Chornoguzy. OCU raiders attacked worshippers and seized a UOC church

A UOC Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary Nativity

Address: Chernivtsi region, Chernoguzy village, Academician Vernadsky St., 3

OCU Raiders of the Chernoguzy village organized a brutal attack on the UOC believers and clergy. The criminal group held a meeting of the territorial community, at which they falsified documents for the religious community of the temple.

Having illegally re-registered the church, OCU activists attacked the temple and its parishioners.

Activists beat believers using different means.

On April 13, 2024, OCU activists said that the UOC community in honor of the of the Blessed Virgin Mary Nativity in Chernoguzy village allegedly unanimously voted to transfer to the OCU.

The raiders said that the counting commission allegedly registered 312 people at the meeting. All of them voted for the transition to the OCU. The meeting was held near the local house of culture.

(Source: Suspilne, Chernivtsi)

On April 16, 2024, the UOC Chernivtsi-Bukovyna Eparchy denied the statements of the raiders.

The diocese stressed that the true religious community of the UOC in the village of Chernoguzy remains faithful to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its Primate, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy.

It was the religious community from the OCU temple, which is also located in the village, voted for the transfer of the UOC temple to the OCU.

The rector of the parish in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in Chernoguzy, Mitred Archpriest Anthony Fedorashchak, explained that the religious community held its meeting on the feast of the Annunciation, April 7. The parishioners voted to remain in the bosom of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The rector of the UOC parish said that the meeting of the territorial community for the transition to the OCU was attended mainly by an OCU church parishioners, which has existed for many years in this village.

"Supporters of the OCU in the village of Chernoguzy have a good stone church, why do they need another one if they fit well in one?" the message says.

The Chernivtsi diocese notes that the illegality of the actions of Chernoguzy village residents on April 13 is more than obvious, since the decision to change the church jurisdiction of the parish should be made by a religious community with the number of votes of 2/3 of its members.

"In the situation with voting in Chornoguzy village, we see that mainly members of the religious community from the OCU church and members of the territorial community of Chernoguzy village voted," the press service wrote.

(Source: UOJ)

On May 8, 2024, a group of OCU raiders broke into the temple’s territory.

According to eyewitnesses, the criminals attacked the church’s parishioners who were defending their shrine.

Activists beat Orthodox Christians and used tear gas, literally throwing out men and women standing at the doors of their church.

After the criminals dealt with the believers, they brought a grinder and cut off the door locks were. The shrine was seized.

The police presented on the scene were completely inactive.

Later, there was a video the OCU raiders being in the UOC Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary Nativity and pretending to pray.

Eyewitnesses report that an OCU cleric, who leads this action, is standing in the stolen vestments of the church’s rector, Fr. Anthony Fedorashak.

(Source: UOJ)