It’s not too far away by land – about 40 km. But when the Seim River floods, you can only get to Osichi (a village 26 km from Bakhmach) by car, then you have to take a boat. This was also the case this year’s Easter. Father Roman (Kryvko), the abbot of the Baturyn Church of the Holy Intercession of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine even took to paddle a boat himself in order to quickly reach the Korop believers – those willing to come to the OCU church for a festive service.
There is neither such a priest nor such a temple in Korop. The two existing ones — Voznesenskyi and Uspenskyi are with the UOC (MP), Nezhatyn writes.
Therefore, for the Easter service, supporters of the OCU gathered at the ruins of the Illinska Church, built in the 17th century. It was built as a defensive tower (the walls are up to two meters thick) before being rebuilt in the 18th century into a temple. About 20 years ago, the church was handed over to the Kyiv Patriarchate. They began to restore it with government funds, but the work was never completed.
That is why the faithful decided to establish a parish of the OCU in Korop. They had to start from scratch — with the constituent assembly for its creation and subsequent registration. The meeting was held on May 7.
To create a religious community, according to Art. 14 of Law of Ukraine on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations, the consent of 10 citizens who have reached the age of 18 is sufficient (then they must submit an application and charter for registration to the relevant state administrations). It was several times more Korop residents, in favor of the creation of the OCU parish, who attendeded the meeting.
“To be exact, there were 80 of them. This is confirmed by their signatures on consent to the processing of personal data,” says Anatoliy Milyukov, one of the members of the initiative group for convening meetings. “Many parishioners of the Moscow Patriarchate, led by their priests, also visited. It is not known what their goal was.” (“to express a religious position” – that’s an explanation available on the website of the UOC Diocese of Nizhyn, – ed.)
One thing can be said: the event was relatively peaceful – thanks to law enforcement officers and military who came to protect the choice of conscientious Ukrainians.
According to some believers, the scandal at the meeting could have erupted due to a discussion about whether the UOC (MP) is subordinated to Russia (supporters of the OCU claim this, while backers of the UOC (MP) deny it). But, thank God, no skirmishes took place.
Almost immediately after these meetings, the congregation of the Holy Dormition Church of Korop held its own, where it was decided not to transfer to the OCU, but to remain with the UOC (MP).
Therefore, the process of formation of the OCU religious community in the village has begun. Roman Kryvko assured that he would continue to go to church services in Korop.
