Religious discrimination in Lvov

                                                                                                                                                           A. Sadovyi

                                                                                                                                                      Mayor of Lvov

Dear Sir,

we hereby announce to You that on Sunday 24th October 2010 a Divine Liturgy was celebrated in front of the Church of Sts Peter and Paul in Lvov. It was attended by about 400 believers and 50 religious sisters. The second Divine Liturgy in the same place was celebrated on 31st October 2010.

You commit discrimination against our minority Church (UOGCC) which differs from the UGCC in that it has dissociated itself from the heresies publicly proclaimed by ex-Card. L. Husar.

Since 1946 the Church of Sts Peter and Paul has served as a storage place for books; Divine Liturgies have not been celebrated there for 64 years. First You pleaded that You had given the church to the Basilian Order (OSBM), then that You had given it to the Archbishopric of the UGCC and now that it is to be entrusted to the military. The military may have the use of any other church of the UGCC for Sunday Liturgies. The purpose of Your excuses is to prevent us from renting the church for the reason that the UGCC is in strong opposition to us. The UGCC leadership, carrying out this discrimination policy, makes use of the services of the State Committee on Matters of Nationalities and Religions in Kiev and its department in Lvov in order to prevent registration of our UOGCC and of its individual communities. You likewise are an instrument of this religious discrimination in Lvov. This discrimination is contrary to the laws of Ukraine as well as to the international laws which guarantee freedom of conscience and freedom of religion.

We hereby ask You again to give us an opportunity to celebrate Sunday Liturgies in the Church of Sts Peter and Paul.

On Friday 5th November 2010 between 10 and 11 a.m. three religious sisters will come to take the keys of the church in order that on Sunday 7th November we no longer have to celebrate the Liturgy outside! We believe that You will not reject us as You did on 22nd October 2010. We thank You in advance for a positive response to our request and for putting an end to this discrimination lasting almost two years.

On behalf of the UOGCC,

                                 + Markian OSBMr

                    Secretary of the Synod of the UOGCC

                                                                                                                                       Lvov, 1st November 2010

Copies to:

-          The Archbishopric of the UGCC in Lvov (+ Igor, + Benedict)

-          State Committee on Matters of Nationalities and Religions, regional department in Lvov (V. Gorbal, governor)

-          The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg

Address: Synod of the UOGCC, 3 Sosnova St., Lvov - Bryukhovychi, 79491, Ukraine

www.uogcc.org.ua, www.community.org.ua; pidhirci.community@gmail.com