DECR MP welcomes delegation of the community of the Holy Trinity from the village of Rakhmaniv

Archpriest Oleg Sirko, Rector of the Parish of the Holy Trinity in the village of Rakhmaniv, Ternopol region, was received in the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate on December 21, 2005. Among the DECR participants were: Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, DECR MP deputy chairman, Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, secretary for Inter-Orthodox relations, and deacon Sergei Govorun, a staff-member of the Inter-Orthodox Secretariat.

On 4 September 2005, supporters of the so-called ‘Kievan Patriarchate’ thrown out the community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from its church. In spite of numerous protests and hunger-strike of its rector Archpriest Oleg Sirko, justice was not obtained. To draw the attention of deputies, the members of the community had to set up a camp near the Supreme Rada of Ukraine, where Fr. Oleg celebrated a Divine Liturgy every day.

Fr. Oleg Sirko and his companions told about the situation with the captured churched and were assured that they would be supported in their struggle for justice. The Department for External Church Relations will make all necessary efforts to protect legal rights of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, her parishes and believers.