OCU plans a church raid following provocation at soldier’s funeral

Meeting in Komarivtsi. Photo: Roman Hryshchuk

On January 19, 2025, supporters of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) transferred the Dormition Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in the village of Komarivtsi, Chernivtsi region, to their jurisdiction.

UOJ sources report that several activists held a meeting in the square in front of the local administrative building. Roman Hryshchuk, an OCU chaplain and one of the initiators of the takeover, announced the event.

A total of 146 people voted for the transfer. The church community refused to participate in the vote.

The seizure was preceded by events on January 17, when OCU representatives demanded access to the church to conduct ceremonies related to the funeral of a local resident and soldier, Pavlo Unguryan, claiming this was his expressed wish.

The UOC priest agreed and provided the church for the service. However, during the funeral, OCU supporters provoked hostility toward the UOC clergy and parishioners, leading to a verbal conflict. This incident was later used to justify organizing a meeting and voting “for the transfer to the OCU”.

As the UOJ previously reported, the incident in Komarivtsi is another episode in a pattern employed by OCU representatives to discredit the UOC and seize churches.

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