Cherkasy Eparchy accuses OCU of lies and attempted church raids
The Cherkasy Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) has denied the Orthodox Church of Ukraine’s (OCU) claims to churches in Cherkasy.
The Legal Department of the Cherkasy Eparchy of the UOC issued an official statement regarding attempts to raid churches in Cherkasy. The statement was prompted by an incident on April 2, 2025, when OCU representatives tried to seize St. Andrew’s Church and the Church of the Nativity of Christ.
According to the document, following the failed attempt at a forcible takeover, a post titled “Refuting False Information” appeared on the official Facebook page of the "Cherkasy Eparchy of the OCU." UOC lawyers called this post “a manipulation based on blatantly false claims.”
The legal department emphasized that both churches are legally owned by the administrative body of the Cherkasy Eparchy of the UOC, and the land plots on which the churches are situated are in the permanent use of the diocese, as confirmed by official State Land Acts.
The statement refutes the OCU's reference to “Justice Ministry decision No. 1861/5 from June 21, 2024,” which allegedly revoked the ownership rights. “This is a blatant lie and manipulation. The decision merely annulled the actions of the registrar who entered the data into the registry more than ten years ago, but it does not and cannot revoke the ownership itself, as upheld by a ruling of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine,” the statement reads.
The lawyers also pointed to fraudulent practices involving the sudden appearance of "parishes" represented by the OCU. According to their information, the UOC’s St. Andrew parish had been officially dissolved back in 2013 but suddenly “resurrected” in the registry on March 7, 2025, and immediately joined the OCU. Meanwhile, the Church of the Nativity of Christ parish “never legally existed at all” and was registered only in February 2025.
In conclusion, the Cherkasy Eparchy appealed to local authorities and law enforcement to prevent bloodshed and the illegal seizure of church property.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that Metropolitan Theodosiy had warned about impending seizures of UOC churches in Cherkasy.
