In Gorbakov in the Rivne region, supporters of the OCU cut the locks on the Trinity Church of the UOC. This is reported by the website of the Rivne diocese.
“On May 16, 2023, at about 10 a.m., local residents of the village of Gorbakov of the Babinskaya TG noticed two men with technical tools near the Trinity Church, which has been sealed for several weeks already. The men threw a carrier from the house next to the church and cut the locks on the temple. law enforcement,” the statement said.
In the church raiders, the locals recognized Viktor Stasiuk, the “priest” of the OCU in the village of Bugrin, and a local resident, Viktor Pavelchuk. According to eyewitnesses, before the arrival of the police, both burglars managed to cut off some locks, replace them with their own and leave the territory of the church.
“I was in the regional center when the parishioners called me,” says Archpriest Mikhail Petrov, rector of the Trinity Church. I came to the church, thirty years, since I was the rector, I have not been in it.
Law enforcement officers took testimony from believers of the UOC, who witnessed the actions of the raiders, drew up a protocol, but did not give an answer whether criminal proceedings would be opened. The police also promised to seal the church and not allow any of the religious communities to worship until a court decision.
