23.10.2017, Ukraine.
The Temple of Annunciation has been forcibly seized by representatives of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) in Ivano-Frankovsk (Western Ukraine), TASS reports on October 23.
The entrance to the church was blocked on October 22. Several heavily built men in masks, together with clergymen of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, did not allow churchgoers to participate in the service. People who wished to come into the church were insulted, some were beaten. Nikolay Medinsky, a priest of the UGCC, was one of the aggressors. He threatened representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, in particular, he threatened to slit throats of those who would not leave the place. The Temple of Annunciation in Ivano-Frankovsk was built in 1587, while the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church was founded in 1596.
According to sociological surveys, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has the largest number of followers. 36% of Christian believers in Ukraine profess Orthodoxy. Approximately a quarter of them belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is less numerous, only 1/5 of Christians affiliate themselves with UGCC.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
