A people's assembly in the city of Khmelnytskyy voted by majority to transfer the Holy Protection Cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate, UOC-MP) to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), Suspilne has reported.
The keys to the church were handed over to the audit commission, which was elected by the townspeople during a meeting on Sunday evening.
According to the chairman of the audit commission, Yuriy Smal, the audit commission, the media and the previous secretary of the church, Oleksandr Rybchynskyy, entered the cathedral. According to Smal, the commission is inventorying the property. Then the church will be locked. No services will be held there until Easter according to the Eastern rite.
Smal added that tomorrow, 3 April, representatives of the commission are going to submit documents for the re-registration of the religious community to the regional military administration.
According to preliminary data, 1,235 people officially registered at the meeting.
The mayor of Khmelnytskyy, Oleksandr Symchyshyn, released a video of the first prayer in Ukrainian for Ukraine and its defenders at the Holy Protection Cathedral, which was transferred to the OCU after the scandal with the beating of a soldier.
"The first prayer in Ukrainian for Ukraine, for Ukrainian soldiers in the cathedral. The first in decades and decades! The people of Khmelnytskyy are cool! Respect to everyone! I am proud! Thank you, all Ukrainians, for your support!" Symchyshyn said on Telegram.
The day before, there was a conflict between the clergy of the UOC-MP and a volunteer in this church. A video of the conflict was posted online. The description to the video states that the priests of the UOC-MP beat the soldier in the church. The police opened a criminal investigation into the incident. The patrol police drew up a report on an administrative offence at the scene.
In the evening, protesters gathered near the church, outraged by the incident, and clashes broke out.