Ukraine's Supreme Council orders close of "field chapel"

CHERNIHIV (RISU) – The Supreme Council declined the cassation of the Chernihiv Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) as early as February 10, 2010, and left unchanged the decision of the Desna District Court of Chernihiv of August 4, 2009, and the resolution of the Chernihiv Oblast Court of Appeal of October 6, 2009.

The mentioned documents obligate the administration of the Chernihiv Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate to dismantle the tents erected near the building of the St. Catherine Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate in Chernihiv. The resolution is final and without the right of appeal. In the event of non-fulfillment thereof, the police is to fulfill it and dismantle the two unlawfully erected tents, which spoil the image of the church.

According to the Cossack community at whose disposal the building is now, the executive authorities reportedly obligated the eparchial department of the UOC-MP to liquidate the so-called “field” chapel near St. Catherine Church by March 9, 2010.

However, according to our RISU correspondent, Lubov Potapenko, on March 10 the two tents were still there.

Therefore, the situation has been unclear for the last month. According to journalists, the “indoctrination” of the public opinion by the local media supporting the UOC-MP has begun. Even though, in their opinion, the non-fulfillment of the resolution will hardly be supported by many Chernihiv residents because during the last three and a half years of the “stationing of the field church” its occupants have disturbed the city residents: they systematically cursed young couples married in the Church, offended the visitors, imposed their preaching on tourist groups, etc.