SBU searches Chernivtsi eparchial administation and UOC Cathedral

Law enforcers have blocked the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Chernivtsi. Photo: BucPress Cernăuți

On the morning of 25 November 2022, the SBU started searches in the eparchial administration of the Chernivtsi and Bukovyna Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as well as in the neighbouring St. Nicholas Cathedral.

According to UOJ sources, law enforcers blocked the buildings and did not allow worshippers to enter the cathedral for a service. The parishioners are outraged because, according to them, this temple has never been closed even during the Soviet times. This is the first time since the independence of Ukraine that people have been barred from entering the church. At the moment the administration building and the cathedral are blocked by law enforcers. The reason for the searches is not yet known.

The searches were also reported by the Romanian-language resourse BucPress Cernăuți. The UOJ is following the events.

On 22 November, the SBU searched 350 church buildings of the UOC in Kyiv and the Sarnyn-Polissia Eparchy.

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