Greek Catholics who fled after the referendum returned to Crimea
Kyiv - Sevastopol, October 06 (PolitNavigator, Mikhail Ryabov) - Greek Catholic priests who left Crimea after the referendum on joining Russia are returning to the peninsula to continue their activities.
This was stated by the head of the UGCC Svyatoslav Shevchuk.
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There are five parishes in the Crimean Exarchate. Crimea suffered a serious blow. At one time, all the priests were forced to leave Crimea, but then returned. There is now our priest in Yevpatoria, who has the appropriate documents and registration and can be there freely.
Other parishes, in Simferopol, Sevastopol, Yalta and Kerch, unfortunately, do not have permanent priests today. However, they receive help from religious organizations...
According to the immigration legislation of the Russian Federation, those priests who have Ukrainian citizenship can reside for three months, and then must leave the territory for a month. Now five of our priests minister in our communities on a rotating basis.
What is their future? The current Crimean government has announced the need to re-register all religious organizations by the end of this year. Each of our parishes will have to re-register. The problem is that the initiator of the registration process must be a person who has a Russian passport. There is a great danger that the re-registration of these communities could become a legal mechanism for the liquidation of those churches and religious organizations that the “authorities” consider disloyal,” the UGCC website quotes Shevchuk.
At the same time, he admitted that the situation of the Uniates in Crimea is better than in the Donbass, where the cities were “captured by terrorists.”
The UGCC will not leave either Crimea or Donetsk, Shevchuk clarified. “Supporting the clergy in this territory should be one of our priorities in moving to the East,” explained the head of the UGCC.
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