More and more carriers out of fear refuse to carry to Kiev pilgrims


A column of Ukrainian procession 2016

Five representatives of the transport companies refused to carry the faithful of the UOC in procession in Kiev. Their refusal they explain threats from the authorities.

Several carriers at the last moment refused to take the pilgrims in a procession in Kiev on July 27. Dean lubarsky district, Zhytomyr diocese of the UOC Archpriest Nikolai Shaparenko told SPM that the list of “refuseniks” has added three carrier in his neighborhood, and two in the Polonsky district, Khmelnitsky region.

According to father Nicholas, with all the transport was already clear agreement. In total, they had to deliver in the capital about 150 pilgrims. But on Thursday, July 26, all five of them called and said that the local authorities threaten them with revocation of the license if they provide transportation to the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

In addition, on the ground have intensified the security forces. Father Nikolay said that on Thursday, he called the police and asked: do you have all the necessary documents about the security of the transportation of pilgrims?

“Before, when we organized a pilgrimage, we contacted the police and asked them to give support. But we refused – said the Dean. – And now, no one asked, and suddenly called themselves and attended to the issue”.

In recent days, the editor of SPM, there were many reports about how local authorities in many regions of Ukraine trying to block the trips of the faithful of the UOC on a religious procession in Kiev on July 27. On the March the Kiev Patriarchate, on the contrary, forcibly rounded up the “public sector”.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.