Epifaniy: over time everyone in UOC will "open their eyes" and join OCU
Dumenko claims that the believers of the UOC are in "spiritual captivity," which is why they do not want to join his structure.
All Orthodox parishes throughout Ukraine will be part of the OCU structure, Epifaniy Dumenko believes. He stated this in a comment to molbuk.ua, responding to a question about how he assesses the pace of community transitions to the OCU in Bukovyna.
"This is an evolutionary process. We want everything to happen peacefully and calmly, but we see that the UOC is staging provocations," Dumenko shared his view of the situation.
According to him, supposedly the communities themselves independently make decisions about changing jurisdictions. However, this takes time.
«But we are in no hurry. We live in our Ukrainian state. Therefore, gradually all parishes that are Orthodox, not only in Bukovyna but throughout Ukraine, will be in the fold of the recognized single local OCU. This is an irreversible process," the head of this structure assured the journalists.
He added that people in «spiritual captivity» need time to realize a «need» in this.
"But gradually many are having their eyes opened and joining the OCU," said Epifaniy.
As reported, on May 16, 2025, a group of raiders led by OCU clerics seized the UOC Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village of Zastavna, Chernivtsi region.
On June 17, 2025, OCU clerics led by Chokaliuk brought a gang of militants to the Holy Spirit Cathedral of the UOC in Chernivtsi, who brutally beat the priests and seized the shrine for several hours.
On October 10, 2025, two OCU clerics staged a provocation at the Chernivtsi cathedral, claiming they had the "blessing of Bishop Theognost to serve prayers" and were "Chernivtsi residents". They turned out to be participants in violent seizures.
