Ukrainian Orthodox Church remains the largest denomination in Ukraine

The Cross Procession of the UOC. Photo: news.church.ua

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church remains the largest denomination in Ukraine and comprises 12 406 religious organizations as of 01.01.2021. The corresponding report was published by the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience.

As of January 1, 2021, 37,049 religious communities were registered in Ukraine, a third of which belong to the UOC.

There is almost half the figure in the OCU – 7,188, of which 457 are inactive. The report does not indicate that a significant part of the parishes is still legally part of the UOC-KP and the UAOC.

The third-largest Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has 3,670 religious communities.

In addition, there are 215 registered monasteries in Ukraine that belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (40% of the total number), in which 4,681 monks and nuns ascetise (70% of the total monasticism). There are 79 monasteries in the OCU, with 233 monks assigned to them.

The report also notes that the UOC numbers: 10,510 clerics; 18 theological educational institutions, at which 1,479 students have an intramural form of study, and 2,454 students – an extramural form of study. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church includes 4,085 Sunday schools and one general education school.

According to the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, 135 media outlets work in the UOC as of the beginning of 2021, of which 86 are printed, 7 – audiovisual, and 43 – electronic.

Earlier, the UOC reacted to the ongoing violations of the rights of believers and clarified the position of the Church on a number of issues discussed at the international-legal and national levels.

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