Where OCU got documents for UOC cathedral in Kremenchuk becomes known

Dormition Cathedral in Kremenchuk. Photo: UOC

The community of the Holy Dormition Cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in Kremenchuk published a post on the cathedral’s Facebook page detailing events leading to the re-registration of the church in favor of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU).

"On July 1, 2024 (this is the date in their protocol), Oksana Kuchmenko and Olga Ponomarenko gathered 26 people in an unknown location – not on church premises, not in a park, but possibly in their home – and decided to seize the Holy Dormition Cathedral," the community states.

The post suggests that the meeting on which the re-registration was based might not have taken place at all: "Perhaps there were no meetings. They may have gone door to door to relatives to collect signatures – or even signed for everyone themselves. We do not know."

Documents submitted to the Poltava Regional State Administration led to the UOC religious community being stripped of its church without the congregation’s knowledge.

"They submitted unclear protocols to the Poltava RSA, and miraculously, without the knowledge of the UOC religious community, the re-registration took place. Suddenly, they consider themselves the new owners of the church and other community property. These are people who have done nothing for the cathedral, who never attended services, and who never prayed or entered the church."

The community also criticized the condition of the nearby OCU church: "Not far from the Dormition Cathedral is an OCU church that is always closed and in a state of neglect both inside and outside. The grounds are unkempt, and dirty windows are covered with rags. Liturgies are held once a week, starting at 12:00 p.m. for some reason, and there are no evening services at all."

Meanwhile, according to the community, the UOC’s Holy Dormition Cathedral regularly gathers hundreds of parishioners, unlike the 26 people mentioned in the OCU activists' documents.

"The OCU church is closed because no one attends it, so they think the UOC church should also be closed," representatives of the community conclude, hinting at the motives of the activists.

As previously reported by the Union of Orthodox Journalists, the OCU seized the UOC cathedral in Kremenchuk, with an "activist commission" breaking the Royal Doors and entering the altar.

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