In Gostomel, the OCU activists, together with representatives of local authorities, held a meeting of the territorial community of the town in order to transfer the Intercession Church of the UOC to the jurisdiction of the OCU. The religious community of the temple remains faithful to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the omophorion of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry. This was reported by the Information and Educational Department of the UOC.

At the meeting, which was arranged by the supporters of the OCU in the local House of culture, the decision on the jurisdictional subordination of the Intercession Church was made by representatives of the territorial community of the town, and not the religious community of the temple.

The head of the legal department of the Boryspil diocese, Archpriest Alexei Nosenko, arrived at this illegal meeting and warned that, in accordance with the Law of Ukraine, only the religious community has the right to decide the future of the temple.

“The religious community is the people who confess, take communion, remain in canonical obedience to the rector, they decide the future of the church,” Father Alexei noted.

Despite this, at a meeting of the territorial community, people who had nothing to do with the Intercession Church decided to vote for the transfer of the temple to the OCU.

Earlier, the parishioners of the Church of the Intercession held a meeting of the religious community, at which allegiance to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the omophorion of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry was unanimously assured.

The parishioners of the Intercession Church also confirmed their choice on July 5, having gathered during an illegal meeting of the territorial community for prayer at the walls of their church.