In Badovka, the Kiev Patriarchate uses the last resort to keep the seized church of the canonical Orthodox Church

March 14, 2017 – In the village of Badovka, Rivne region, representatives of the Kiev Patriarchate again prevented believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from entering the church, belonging to the UOC (Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate) (UOC-MP).

On March 6, a court eviction order from the Supreme Economic Court of Ukraine ordered the Kiev Patriarchate to leave the church that they illegally occupied in 2014.

On March 3, 2017, a human rights activist of the Rivne diocese of the UOC received a call from the state prosecutor, who said that the court order would not take place because of a lawsuit filed by representatives of the Kiev Patriarchate in the Supreme Court of Ukraine.

“We already have a similar practice in the diocese of Rivne, when members of the Kiev Patriarchate submit another lawsuit not from legal entities, but from individuals. This time, the opponents turned to the manipulation of the patriotic consciousness of the population by using the case of the Donbass War veteran Valentin Sergeyevich Zakhozhy, a Badovka resident, who in February 2017 filed a lawsuit in the Rovno District Administrative Court and the Ostroh District Court, demanding that they revoke the decision on the right of ownership to the church.

Also, it became known from the court’s decision that he requires to seize the church building. “The cases on his claims have not yet been scheduled for consideration yet, as V. S. Zakhozhy did not pay the court fee,” commented Catherine Ivaniuk, the human rights activist of the Rivne diocese of the UOC.

In connection with this claim, the state prosecutor suspended the execution of the court’s decision of December 20, 2016 until March 17, 2017.

“We do not want to aggravate the situation, we simply seek justice,” says Archpriest Viktor Zemlianoy, head of the department for the settlement of interfaith disputes at the Rivne diocese of the UOC-MP– the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene Church was built by the believers of the UOC-MP. Our key benefactor was Viktor Gubitsky, who now serves as a cleric of the Kiev diocese of the UOC-MP. I think this fact should not be appealed against by any villager – everything happened transparently.”

Now while the legitimate owners of the church – the believers of the UOC-MP – are forced to pray in the country house, eagerly provided for worship by a local resident, the Kiev Patriarchate continues to use the church for their own purposes.

As reported by the UOJ, on December 20, the Supreme Economic Court of Ukraine ordered the Kiev Patriarchate to vacate the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene Church of the UOC in the village of Badovka, Rivne region, seized by the Kiev Patriarchate two years ago.

Photo documents from UOJ

Sources
http://uoj.org.ua/en/novosti/sobytiya/in-badovka-uoc-kp-uses-the-last-resort-to-keep-the-seized-church
http://pro.church.ua/2017/03/14/u-badivci-upc-kp-vikoristala-ostannij-zasib-shhob-utrimati-zaxoplenij-xram/
http://uoj.org.ua/ua/novosti/sobytiya/sud-povernuv-viruyuchim-upts-zakhoplenu-kiivskim-patriarkhatom-tserkvu-sela-badivka