Ukrainian Extremists Seize Ukrainian Orthodox Church's Cathedral Near Rivne - NGO

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th March, 2019) Extremist from Ukraine's Right Sector movement (banned in Russia) and followers of the recently established new Ukrainian church seized on Sunday the Ukrainian Orthodox Church's Intercession Cathedral in the village of Mnyshyn, located in the northwestern Ukrainian Rivne Region, the Union of Orthodox Journalists said in a statement.

According to the NGO, extremists and representatives of the new church rushed into the church on early Sunday, an hour before the morning prayer.

"Immediately after the cathedral's seizure representatives of the Kiev Patriarchate [new Ukrainian church] held a service with the priest having been taken from a neighboring village.

From the outside the 'prayer' ... was safeguarded by representatives of the Right Sector," the statement said.

After the end of the "prayer" the assailants wanted to lock the church but were prevented from that by law enforcement bodies that allowed the Ukrainian Orthodox Church's followers to enter the cathedral in order to hold their service.

Kiev as well as various extremist groups launched a crackdown on the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church last year following the establishment of the new Ukrainian church, which on January 6, 2019, was recognized by Constantinople Patriarch Bartholomew.