The communities of the Khmelnytsky diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, from which churches were taken away, are establishing liturgical life in private adapted premises, and even organizing services there as bishops. Archbishop of Khmelnytsky and Starokonstantinovsky Victor spoke about this in an interview with the Information and Education Department of the UOC.

“A day later, especially on weekends, we learn that in this or that village, settlement or city there are attempts to seize our churches by force,” the bishop said. – Despite this, our believers maintain the unity of their communities, and even if their churches are forcibly seized, they find other places, adapt them to churches so as not to remain without prayer, without the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, without unity with all Orthodox Christians. Their liturgical parish life continues.”

The bishop also spoke about the Divine Liturgy, which he served on the patronal feast in the Khmelnytsky community in honor of St. George the Victorious.

“People gave this room so that believers could gather there and pray. Where the mountainous place was, there was a fireplace, and the whole wall was lined with firewood. And there were more than a hundred people. Everyone could not fit into this room, people stood on the street. Communion, wept, tears rolled down their faces. They were hurt by the fact that they could not pray in their church, because it was captured,” the bishop said.

According to him, “in such parishes, people are united, they support each other, it is difficult to convince them, and this warms the heart and soul.”

“Our mission is to preserve our communities. If the people from whom the temple was taken away remain [in the UOC community] – and this happens in almost every case when a temple is seized by force – we must make every effort to ensure that liturgical parish life continues there,” the archbishop emphasized. – We will pray wherever possible: in houses, and in apartments, and under an oak tree in the field, and in the open air, because people desire prayer and want to be faithful to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. And I, as a bishop, will do everything in my power to be with people to the last, no matter what conditions we find ourselves in.”