OCU blogger tries to stage provocation at Chernivtsi Holy Spirit Cathedral
A provocateur calling himself a “religious expert” came to the cathedral in Chernivtsi and recorded a video while insulting UOC clergy and faithful.
Publicist and blogger supporting the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Oleksandr Brodetskyi, attempted to stage yet another provocation near the Holy Spirit Cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Chernivtsi. He filmed on the cathedral grounds and posted the recording on his Facebook page, adding comments containing insulting remarks about UOC clergy and believers.
In his address, the blogger used wording that incites religious hostility. In particular, he said: “How much longer in my city of Chernivtsi can the central church be occupied by Moscow priests – Ukrainophobes?” Brodetskyi also claimed that the cathedral is allegedly “run by priests and bishops affiliated with Moscow,” and that, in his words, believers “cannot afford to go where the people in charge are not troubled by commemorating Patriarch Kirill.”
In addition, the blogger insisted that the UOC community “wants to remain part of the Russian Church,” and he presented the court decision on transferring the cathedral as final, repeatedly justifying the displacement of a many-thousand-strong religious community from its shrine.
This is not the first such incident involving Brodetskyi. Earlier, he wrote on his page that on July 21, 2025, he had allegedly been beaten near the Holy Spirit Cathedral. Both then and now, he explained his appearance on cathedral grounds as a desire to “inform society,” while accompanying it with public accusations and derogatory labels aimed at UOC representatives.
The clergy and faithful did not react to his behavior. However, Brodetskyi’s actions caused concern among believers, as each such outburst carries a threat. “It is obvious that the raiders have not abandoned their plans to seize the shrine,” representatives of the eparchy commented to Dozor.
As the UOJ reported, on February 16, 2025, in Chernivtsi, unknown persons held a gathering under the fence of the UOC cathedral at which they “transferred” three UOC churches to the OCU. At the same time, inside the cathedral itself, the religious community held its lawful meeting and decided to remain in the UOC. A total of 4,506 people voted at that meeting. On June 17, OCU clerics brought a group of militants to the cathedral; they brutally beat the cathedral’s priests and seized the shrine for several hours.
