The actions of the few supporters of the Moscow Patriarchate who prevented OCU believers from entering the Holy Kazan Church in Ladyzhyn could have been led by Vinnytsia regional deputy from Groysman's Ukrainian Strategy, Ihor Khmil. This option is not ruled out by the head of the newly created OCU community, Mykhailo Bondarenko, who in an exclusive commentary to UNN told how the community is now transforming the former center of the "Russian world" into a real Ukrainian church.
According to him, the community's transition to the OCU and the fierce opposition to it exposed many pro-Russian "canned goods" in Ladyzhyn. Now they have allegedly curtailed their activities.
At the same time, Bondarenko does not rule out that Ihor Khmil, a deputy of the Vinnytsia Regional Council from Groysman's Ukrainian Strategy, could be behind these people.
"We had a few moments where we couldn't understand what was going on. And now we think maybe it came from him. We are checking this information to see if it could be that he was putting a little spoke in our wheels. We are looking into it," Bondarenko said.
He added that the church is now returning to normal life.
"We have already restored the doors and are partially repairing them. So far, the services are conducted by visiting priests of the OCU.
People come to services. There are those who would like to come, but they are afraid that the few supporters of the Moscow Patriarchate will react aggressively. That's how their church has set itself up. But we will change this situation," said the head of the OCU community.
The newly created OCU community plans to restore the Holy Kazan Church, which was built in 1908 and is one of the largest and oldest in the area.
In general, Mykhailo Bondarenko dreams that the church will not only be a gathering place for believers, but will also become a powerful cultural, educational, and volunteer center.
"We have all these plans. Even if we look back at the history of our country from the time of Petro Mohyla, he was also connected with the clergy. He also opened schools, universities, and all this was done in the old days at churches. We want to do the same. We will definitely open a Sunday school for children and youth.
As for volunteering, we have a priest of the OCU, Mykhailo Nemych. He helps us, helps volunteers: he sends trench candles, money for night cameras, cars, etc. That is why we are going to set up a volunteer center here, where believers will come and help our military," said Bondarenko.
Context
In November last year, the community of the St. Kazan Church in Ladyzhyn held a meeting at which they decided to transfer to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. All the necessary legal documents were drawn up.
On December 28, people tried to enter their church, but the priest of the Moscow Patriarchate, Yevgeny Vorobyov, and his few supporters met the OCU parishioners with pepper gas and sticks.
When people were able to get into their church on January 9, they found Russian flags, icons depicting the Russian imperial family, religious books with propaganda for the "Russian world," pro-Russian calendars, photo portraits of Russian Orthodox Church hierarchs, and a collection of DVDs with propaganda films about Russia.
Russian propagandists tried to use the story in Ladyzhyn for their own purposes. Local residents are convinced that Yevgeny Vorobyov's son, Dmitry Vorobyov, who is studying to become a military chaplain in Russia, helped them in this.
Ihor Khmil, a deputy of the Vinnytsia Regional Council from Groysman's Ukrainian Strategy , who has supported the Moscow Patriarchate for many years and has not changed his position even now, is behaving rather ambiguously.