It hurts that the 200-year-old temple is empty, said the clergyman of the Tulchin Eparchy, Archpriest Pavel Petlevany, rector of the seized temple of the Prophet of God Elijah in the village of Strilchyntsi, Vinnitsa region, in a commentary to the UOJ.

The schismatics closed the old village church three years ago. According to the clergyman, since then the village has been divided, and now believers of the UOC and supporters of the OCU even go to different shops.

“We serve in the church yard near the temple. In summer, nightingales sing along with the choir, and in winter – a frosty wind. But the parish not only survived but also multiplied. Even the children of parishioners who came from Germany went with us on the Great Cross Procession in Kyiv,” he said.

The community continues to struggle for its church in the courts, it already has 16 court hearings and lots of papers behind, “but we hope for the rule of law”.

“It hurts that the church with a 200-year history is empty,” added Fr. Pavel.

He explained that representatives of the OCU appear in the seized church extremely rarely: in 2019 – 5 times, in 2020 – never. This year there has been a visiting “priest”, but he refused to “serve” because only three people came to him.