Chernyakhiv. Police brutally detained a priest while raiders were seizing a UOC church.

UOC Church of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica

Address: Kozatska Street, Cherniakhiv village, Kyiv Region

On May 30, 2023, a group of OCU raiders broke into the grounds of St. Demetrius Church. Police officers provided forceful support to the criminal group, detaining clergy and believers.

May 13, 2022 – Representatives of the local authorities, together with territorial defense members and armed police officers, attempted to seal the UOC church dedicated to the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica.

According to eyewitnesses, the local authorities stated that they were acting on the basis of an address to the clergy adopted by the city council on May 12 at its regular session.

Parishioners of St. Demetrius Church did not allow the officials and police officers into the church grounds and did not permit them to seal the building.

If the faithful refused to allow the church to be sealed, the authorities threatened to use harsh measures.

(Source: UOJ)

May 30, 2023 – OCU activists, under the cover of police and territorial defense fighters, seized the church.

The activists cut off the locks on the church and occupied the premises. Court proceedings regarding the church’s unlawful re-registration were still ongoing.

The police openly shielded the raiders.

Police officers used force against the priests and parishioners who were trying to enter their shrine. In particular, the violence involved Andrii Lysyi, head of the Department for Mass and Protected Events of the Preventive Activities Directorate of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kyiv Region.

The security forces tried to twist a priest’s arms, shoved elderly women, and dragged the church’s defenders along the ground.