Ukrainian Mayor: UOC Only 'Temporarily' Occupies Churches
According to Cherkasy Mayor Anatolii Bondarenko, the authorities have “not finished the job” by failing to drive the faithful out of the last two UOC churches in the city.
CHERKASY — Anatolii Bondarenko, the mayor of Cherkasy who personally oversaw the seizure of several churches belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), stated that the remaining two UOC parishes in the city are only “temporarily” present in their churches.
“This is the fault of both the authorities and the communities," he said. "I think the Cherkasy community should soon correct its mistakes. After all, the decision was made long ago. One could say that representatives of the FSB–Moscow Patriarchate are only temporarily staying in those buildings."
He added that “everyone already understands that Ukraine must have a single, local, national Church.”
At present, out of 10 UOC churches in Cherkasy, eight have already been seized.
Previously, UOJ reported that human rights advocates circulated an appeal by Met. Theodosiy of Cherkasy and Kaniv addressed to Pat. Bartholomew of Constantinople.
