Four churches in Crimea were taken away from Kyiv Patriarchate There is an immediate risk of liquidation of the eparchy of Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate. The churches in Sevastopol, Kranspoperekopsk, Kerch and Perevalny village of Simferopol district have been already closed. The “war” against the church in the village of Mramorne is currently going on. This church building is owned by a private individual, – archbishop Klyment (head of Crimean Eparchy) informed. Representatives of Crimean field mission state that these actions violate the freedom to worship which is one of the fundamental human rights. The situation with the churches of Kyiv patriarchate is becoming more tense. According to archbishop Klyment churches in Crimea are taken away using the same scenario:”At first the parishioners of Moscow patriarchate show up. Then “cossacks” and “self-defense” join them. All of this is done openly. That is how it happened in Perevalny village and in Simferopol on July 6th. People were trying to get inside the church building, but we have locked the front gates and the provocation did not take place. The same scenario is being prepared for the village of Mramorne and Eupatoria”, - archbishop says. In Sevastopol according to archbishop Klyment some of the things that belonged to the church were stolen by unknown people. However, church members managed to transport most of the church belongings to Simferopol. In Sevastopol the Church was based on the territory of the military base. It was closed on April 20th. There were negotiations going on, our belongings were left there, and at least we had the right to go to the territory of the church and we could pray privately there. About a week ago we were told that if we do not transport our belongings, they will not allow us to enter the church and will throw our things outside. When we came to the military base we realized that these threats do have a ground. Everything that was inside military barracks was thrown out of window; there were large heaps of “garbage”: Ukrainian clothes and symbols. Expensive church doors were taken down, they took out sink and faucets in the kitchen. An expensive icon was stolen, and the priest had to go to the hospital after this, - archbishop said. Priests leave Crimea, their families are being threatened. At the same time neither police nor local government reacts to complaints, - archbishop Klyment says. According to him children that study in Ukrainian classes are being beaten and terrorized at schools. For example, in Eupatoria children go to the Ukrainian class. The school year ended with a game called war. All schoolchildren were playing a war game with Ukrainian class because “banderites” and “fascists” study there, and they have to be beaten up. And these kids are students of junior school. So you can only imagine the picture of high school students beating and terrorizing little kids. Children came back home with bruises, torn backpacks and some of their belongings were stolen. Teachers tell parents that it just the game that children play. These games reveal xenophobia and intolerance. Harassment for not being Russian is cultivated at schools. All of a sudden kids who go to Ukrainian classes become enemies of the entire school, - archbishop shares. Kyiv Patriarchate’s position is that congregations of Kyiv Patriarchate should remain in Crimea. It is important for parishioners, - priests say. At the same time it is impossible to resist pressure. “At the moment the rumors are being spread out that Kyiv patriarchate is a fascist church that blesses murder of people, opposes Russia and cooperates with criminals who threaten peaceful citizens of Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics”. Informational war against priests and structure of Kyiv Patriarchate is going on, – archbishop Klyment shared. All of these actions violate human right of freedom to worship and is a discrimination based on religion. Moreover, this type of disinformation may lead to physical violence in relation to the priests. Vice-head of Crimean Field Mission Olha Skrypnyk gave the following comment:”Starting from March our mission has been noting violations of freedom of expression and religious freedom. A number of these violations are related to church members of Kyiv Patriarchate. Russian Federation signed the European Convention on human rights and freedoms. This convention guarantees and obliges the country to provide all opportunities for the people to freely practice any religion. If Russia states that Crimea is under its jurisdiction, then it has to protect all human freedoms and rights. In this case we observe the discrimination based on religion in relation to members of Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate. How can Church members and clergy of Kyiv Patriarchate protect themselves?”. “Parishioners need to use methods and ways of legal protection; they need to go to courts and ombudsman. From the side of Ukraine there should be adequate actions and claims, the issues related to the specific property of Kyiv Patriarchate should be addressed. Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate in Crimea needs legal support so that Church buildings continue to be owned or used, and people have the opportunity to practice the religion they want”, - human rights activist summed up. By Victoria Yermolayeva Voices of Crimeafor Hromadske radio. Translated by Olya Tymchak.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 15:47:06 +0000
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