On November 5, 2023, Metropolitan Symeon met with representatives of three religious communities of the Vinnytsia district, which are under the care of Priest Pavel Zvirinsky, at the Diocesan Administration. Volodymyr and Natalia Mazuruk represented the religious community of the Church of the Protection of the Theotokos in Mali Kruslintsy, the religious community of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica in Lavrivka and the community of the same name in Stadnytsia were represented by Oleksandr Blahyi and Olha Bondarchuk, accordingly.
In addition to the fact that all three communities have the same rector, they are united by the fact that they were among the first church communities in the Vinnytsia region to leave the moscow patriarchate and join the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. These people, who visited Metropolitan Symeon that day, played a major role in this process.
During the conversation with the Archpastor, they mentioned the events that accompanied the process of changing jurisdiction, in particular, the resistance put up by their former rectors with their few supporters and visiting defenders of the "russian world". In defending the right guaranteed by Ukrainian law to freely determine and change their jurisdiction in canonical and organizational matters, communities had to endure not only psychological and physical pressure but also court proceedings. In particular, the religious community of the village of Mali Kruslintsy went through sixteen court hearings to prove their right to pray in their native language and be independent of moscow's religious influence.
After a lengthy conversation, during which issues of the present and the life of parishes under the conditions of martial law were discussed, Metropolitan Symeon thanked the active representatives of the communities and, in their person, all the parishioners of the churches they represented for their active spiritual, educational and charitable activities.
At the end of the meeting, the Archpastor presented Oleksandr Blahyi, Olga Bondarchuk, and Volodymyr and Natalia Mazuruk with the Primate's blessed diplomas with the awards of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine for their personal contribution to the establishment and development of the canonical local Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
Press service of the Diocese of Vinnytsia and Bar of the UOC (OCU)
