Unidentified Men Seize UOC-MP Cathedral In Vinnytsia - Union Of Orthodox Journalists

An unidentified group of people seized the building of Svyato-Preobrazhensky (Transfiguration) Cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) in the city of Vinnytsia on Saturday, the Union of Orthodox Journalists said, citing sources with the knowledge of the situation

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th December, 2018) An unidentified group of people seized the building of Svyato-Preobrazhensky (Transfiguration) Cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) in the city of Vinnytsia on Saturday, the Union of Orthodox Journalists said, citing sources with the knowledge of the situation.

In the morning, "some 20 young athletic-looking men drove up to the Vinnytsia cathedral and seized the keys to all buildings of the complex from the guard."

They demanded that the representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church "take their belongings and leave.

"

The incident comes as Ukraine is hosting on Saturday the unification council of the Ukrainian Orthodox churches to choose the leader of the new independent Orthodox church and adopt its statute. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, which has been the only canonical Orthodox church in Ukraine for hundreds of years, refused to take part in the event.

The UOC-MP has repeatedly reported of cases of attacks on its priests by radicals and seizure of its churches by representatives of non-canonical religious structures.