In Serbo-Slobidka, OCU and local authorities seize a UOC church

OCU representatives seized the UOC's Paraskeva Church in the village of Serbo-Slobidka. Photo: Screenshot from the Dozor video

On February 28, 2025, a group of OCU representatives seized the UOC's Paraskeva Church in the village of Serbo-Slobidka, Zhytomyr region. According to the Dozor Telegram channel, a group of activists, who had no connection to the parish, had previously voted to transfer the church to the OCU.

This took place the day after a meeting of the religious community, where the parishioners unanimously declared that they would remain part of the UOC.

The raiders falsified documents for the church and, on February 26, came to take it over. They damaged the locks in the presence of the police.

The takeover was led by the head of the territorial community, Arkadiy Ratushniak, the village elder, Mykola Zakharchenko, the director of Yabloniv Gymnasium, Nataliya Yezhevska, and the director of Serbo-Slobidka Gymnasium, Tetiana Lytvynchuk.

As a result, the church was sealed pending a court decision.

"On February 27, Orthodox Christians were forced to pray outside while facing threats from activists. On February 28, OCU raiders violated prior agreements, cut the locks, and broke into the church," the report stated.

As previously reported by the UOJ, in Stary Vovchynets, a UOC parish introduced fixed membership, thwarting the OCU's takeover plans.

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