Khmelnytskyi Regional Council Banned Cross Procession to Pochaiv Lavra.

In Khmelnytskyi region, the holding of mass religious events in the form of processions and demonstrations is prohibited. The restriction will be in effect from August 16 to 25. This was reported by the press service of the Kamianets-Podilskyi City Council.

Based on a joint order from the Khmelnytskyi Regional Military Administration and the Khmelnytskyi Regional Territorial Center of Recruitment and Social Support, the holding of mass religious events in the form of processions and demonstrations, including the pilgrimage procession in large and small groups to the Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra, was prohibited.

According to the information, the introduction of restrictions aims to ensure the safety of citizens and order in the region. The ban will be in effect from August 16 to 25.

Recall that every year on August 19, a multi-thousand cross procession of believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate sets out from the village of Dovzhok near Kamianets-Podilskyi to Pochaiv.

During the cross procession in Western Ukraine, which the Moscow Patriarchate held last year in 2023, despite the local authorities' ban, representatives of the UOC MP mistook their own clergyman for a provocateur.