Rector of UOC church of Rososhka in Transcarpathia threatened with murder

November 16, 2019. A local resident who had previously served a sentence for robbery told the clergyman that he “received an order to kill the Moscow priest”.

On November 16, 2019, the editorial office of the LiveJournal received a message stating that Father John Deket, rector of the St. Elijah Church of the UOC in the village of Rososhka, Rakhov district, Transcarpathian region (Ukraine), was threatened with murder.

As it became known, the previously convicted local resident Yevgeny Gonta came to the clergyman’s house and began to threaten him with physical harm. However, he said that he allegedly “received an order to kill the Moscow priest”.  When the priest’s wife came out to meet him, Gonta said that she wouldn’t kill her, pushed matushka with both hands in the chest and threw something in her face.

The police called by the clergyman detained the aggressive man for three hours and then released him. Gonta again came to the priest and continued his threats, saying that earlier he had burned down the village church (which really burned down during the fire about 14 years ago), and now he would make sure that there is no Father John in the village.

Since the threats do not stop, and the police are actually inactive, the priest, who has served in the parish for 16 years, asked the parishioners to organize a watch at his home and seeks help from the media to draw attention to the situation.

