Ukrainian Catholics get land in Kharkiv for new church (12/23/01)

Ukrainian Catholics get land in Kharkiv for new church

Religious Information Service of Ukraine

LVIV - The city and regional administrations of Kharkiv have decided to give the local Ukrainian Greek-Catholic community a plot of land on which they can build a church. After years of requesting permission, on November 16 the Rev. Mykola Semenovych, the priest of the parish, received a letter from the regional authorities ordering the local government to give the Greek-Catholics a long-disputed lot.

As previously reported by RISU, the Greek-Catholics of eastern Ukrainian Kharkiv have been trying to get land on which to build a church since 1997. One major obstacle has been Metropolitan Nykodym (Rusnak) of Kharkiv, Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), who has consistently opposed the Ukrainian Catholics' efforts. He was joined by the governing board of the Institute for the Protection of the Health of Children and Teenagers, a hospital whose territory borders the lot, and some left-wing political groups.

The Rev. Semenovych said that it is the regional authorities, interested in cooperating with the UOC-MP and Metropolitan Nykodym, who created the obstacles. Other lots were suggested, but they were either totally unsuitable for building a church or likely to cause further "conflict."

A number of national deputies in Ukraine's Parliament, the Kharkiv eparchy of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, the intelligentsia and dozens of lay organizations and human-rights groups stepped in to support the Greek-Catholics. Both the Ukrainian and the foreign mass media reported on the story.

On November 8 the Rev. Semenovych had a personal meeting with the assistant to Kharkiv's mayor, in which all the relevant issues were discussed. On November 13 the parish community received a letter that stated that the Kharkiv city administration constantly works to protect citizens' rights to freedom of conscience and religious expression. To this end "the necessary conditions for conducting religious services will be created."

According to the letter, the city authorities have never considered changing the decision they made in 1999 to give the Greek Catholic community a plot of land.

On November 16 the Rev. Semenovych received a letter from the assistant to the head of the regional administration. The letter stated that the regional authorities had ordered the mayor of Kharkiv to ensure that the city authorities' decision of 1999 is carried out.

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