Ukrainian Nazis beat up a priest
In the village of Gnezdychno, Ternopil region, Ukrainian nationalists, trying to “squeeze” an Orthodox church in favor of the schismatic “OCU,” attacked parishioners and beat the rector.
This was reported in the information and educational department of the UOC, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“In the morning before the start of the service, so-called activists began to gather near the church, staged a provocation and disrupted the Divine Liturgy for believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,” the website reports.
The victim himself, rector Archpriest Stefan Balan, admitted that the preparation of radicals for illegal actions became known the day before, but it was not possible to prevent the incident.
“We warned the administration and the police that a conflict situation was planned - do something. They wrote a statement that one should not interfere in religious affairs. They gathered all their deputies on Friday, but decided nothing. Maybe they were afraid, I don’t know. So a fight happened,” said the clergyman.
Parishioners, realizing that Ukrainian radicals were planning to seize the temple, blocked the passage on the stairs of the church. Subsequently, the chairman of the district council arrived at the scene, but he was unable to resolve the brewing conflict.
“The chairman of the village council spoke, and it should be noted that he is on their side. But these people were so aggressive, not understanding what he was saying, they began to insult him. Well, he got excited, threw the keys and left,” the abbot noted.
Archpriest Stefan Balan said that the police then decided to intervene, taking the side of the provocateurs, and an unequal confrontation began.
“The police began to take matters into their own hands and went on the offensive. A special police unit quickly arrived and started beating us. Everything is clearly visible in the video. They beat me, they pushed the believers. And then some men in protective uniforms with red and black stripes came and started throwing us all around. They grabbed me by the head and broke my finger. After that we called an ambulance. Medical workers recorded bruises all over the body - head, chest, arms,” he said.
According to Archpriest Stefan Balan, in the future we can expect that radicals will again attempt to “squeeze” the Orthodox church.
“I think they are waiting for the official registration of the charter, then they will officially storm. I counted 95 people today. They bring people who have never gone to church. Our parishioners, who were in the church all the time, numbered more than sixty,” says the priest.
The UOC website reports that the temple has been sealed for now. The believers, together with the priest, served a prayer service and dispersed.
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