A group of unidentified men in camouflage and balaclavas expelled the monks of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) from the Church of the Nativity in Ivano-Frankivsk in the west of the country. How reported publication “Strana” with reference to the Cherovets-Bukovina diocese, this is the last church of the UOC in the Ivano-Frankivsk region.
The video, which supposedly shows the capture of the temple by unknown people, shows how a group of monks runs out of the doors of the temple, they rub their eyes with their hands – some substance was sprayed inside the temple. The media writes that this is pepper spray gas. Then a man in a balaclava closes the door of the temple.
The diocese said that the temple was seized by a group of 200 people, some of whom were in camouflage uniforms, with the connivance of the police. It is also reported that tear gas was used during the assault.
The UOC is the largest church in Ukraine. Previously, the prefix “Moscow Patriarchate” was added to its name. But on May 27, the church condemned Russia’s fighting in Ukraine and declared independence from the Russian Orthodox Church. Despite this, according to the order of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, until March 29, the monks of the UOC must leave the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.