Vendichany, Vinnitsa, Province, Ukraine, February 13, 2025
The men are using a buzzsaw to cut the locks off the doors of the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in Vendichany, Vinnitsa Province. Photo: pravlife.info
A familiar scene played out again in Ukraine this week, this time in Vendichany, Vinnitsa Province, where representatives of the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” which enjoys the support of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, threatened the family of the local priest and physically captured the church.
The seizure of the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos began last July, when the territorial community voted to transfer the church out of Orthodoxy and into the OCU sect. In November, they managed to re-register the church to the schismatics with the local authorities, reports PravLife.
The schismatics always rely on the votes of territorial communities—people who happen to live near a given church—rather than the actual parish community, as the vast majority of actual parish communities vote to remain loyal to the Orthodox Church. Often, the schismatics also bring in outsiders who don’t even live near the church being voted on.
More recently, the schismatics began threatening the family of the local priest, forcing them to leave town.
Archpriest Anatoly Kirichuk recorded a message to his parishioners about it, saying:
Matushka was forced to leave Vendichany because she began receiving very serious threats from our opponents and from Zhuk Tatiana Danilovna, which I want to officially declare. They said things like, “We know where you live” and “We know how houses burn.” Therefore, Matushka, protecting her life and the lives of our children, was forced to leave.
On February 9, taking advantage of Fr. Anatoly’s absence, an OCU group, led by the mentioned Tatiana Zhuk, attempted to enter the church, but was stopped by police. Then church was then sealed.
However, two days later, the raiders broke the seal, cut the locks, and physically took over the church building.
Fr. Anatoly promised his parishioners he will return in a few days and try to resolve the situation through legal channels. He also assured them that he will find another place to hold services before Great Lent begins.
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