Media: Three churches in Chernivtsi were illegally reregistered in Lviv

A roadside gathering for the "transfer" of Chernivtsi’s main UOC churches to the OCU. Photo: molbuk

The Holy Spirit Cathedral, St. Nicholas Church, and Sts. Peter and Paul Church of the UOC in Chernivtsi were re-registered under the OCU in Lviv, reports kozalTv1, publishing a screenshot of the re-registration document.

According to the document, the re-registration of the UOC churches under the OCU was carried out on February 26, 2025, by S.Ya. Hryniv, an official from the Department of Culture, Nationalities, and Religions of the Lviv Regional State Administration.

Pershyi Kozathskyi reminded readers that Chernivtsi’s Regional State Administration no longer has any state registrars.

"The wave of raider seizures and illegal re-registrations of UOC churches has forced people to leave their positions. State registrars in Bukovyna do not want to be accomplices in the terror against Christians," the media outlet stated.

It was previously reported on February 26, 2025, that unknown individuals re-registered the three main UOC churches in Chernivtsi – the Holy Spirit Cathedral, St. Nicholas Cathedral, and Sts. Peter and Paul Church – under the name of OCU "Bishop" Theognost (Yaroslav) Bodoriak.

Earlier, on February 16, 2025, an unauthorized gathering took place outside the Holy Spirit Cathedral of the UOC, where a group of unknown individuals waving flags, chanting "Death to enemies," and lacking any legal basis "voted" for the transfer of Chernivtsi’s three main churches to the OCU. Some of them were recognized by parishioners as members of UGCC and OCU communities.

At the same time, inside the cathedral, the UOC religious community voted to remain loyal to their Church. Similar votes later took place in other UOC churches in Chernivtsi.

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