Moscow Patriarchate priest assaulted in west Ukraine
MOSCOW. March 23 (Interfax) - Supporters of the self-proclaimed Kyivan Patriarchate have assaulted a priest of the Moscow Patriarchate's Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in the village of Uhryniv in Ukraine's Volyn region.
The assault on archpriest Rostislav Sapozhnik was prompted by a row over the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which was seized by Kyivan Patriarchate representatives in September 2014, a UOC spokesperson said on Monday.
"Eyewitnesses said that in the fall of 2014, the new bosses of the local Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which is an architectural monument, started refurbishment without permission from the department of architecture," the spokesperson said.
The church leader, archpriest Sapozhnik, complained to the authorities. When officials from the department of architecture arrived in Uhryniv, Father Rostislav wanted to enter the church to inspect it from inside but was denied entry in a very rude form.
"A scuffle began, during which the supporters of the Kyivan Patriarchate's Ukrainian Orthodox Church applied physical force and pushed the priest out of the church. After that Father Rostislav was hit in the head with a stick by someone behind his back, as a result of which he suffered a hematoma in his head," the spokesperson said.