Round-the-clock prayer continues for 15 days in Chernivtsi Cathedral

Parishioners in the UOC Cathedral in Chernivtsi. Photo: Orthobuk

A round-the-clock prayer vigil has been ongoing for more than two weeks in the Holy Spirit Cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in Chernivtsi, according to the Orthobuk Telegram channel. Before the beginning of Great Lent, the clergy served two Liturgies daily – one in the morning and one at night. At all other times, the Unceasing Psalter is read.

On the fifteenth day of the prayer vigil, believers held a procession around the cathedral.

It should be recalled that on February 16, 2025, a gathering of unknown individuals with flags took place outside the fence of the Holy Spirit Cathedral of the UOC. Amid chants of "Death to the enemies!" and without any legal grounds, they voted for the transfer of the city’s three main churches to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). Some cathedral parishioners recognized some of them as members of the UGCC and OCU communities.

At the same time, inside the cathedral, several thousand parishioners of the UOC religious community voted to remain faithful to their Church. Similar votes were later held in other UOC churches in Chernivtsi.

Nevertheless, on February 26, 2025, unknown individuals re-registered the three main UOC churches in Chernivtsi – the Holy Spirit Cathedral, St. Nicholas Cathedral, and the Church of Saints Peter and Paul – under the name of the OCU "bishop" Theognost (Yaroslav) Bodoriak.

Later, it was revealed that the illegal re-registration of the Holy Spirit Cathedral, St. Nicholas Cathedral, and the Church of Saints Peter and Paul was carried out by Solomiya Hryniv, an official of the Lviv Regional State Administration and an active supporter of the OCU. In 2024, Serhiy Dumenko awarded her a certificate of appreciation "For services to the OCU".

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