Dumenko claims OCU has 9,000 parishes

Epifaniy Dumenko. Photo: Screenshot from the Apostrophe YouTube channel

The head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), Epifaniy Dumenko, stated in an interview with the Verkhovna Rada TV channel that his structure currently has around 9,000 communities.

He claimed that the transfers of parishes from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) occur “with love.”

“It is important that the process continues gradually, peacefully, and calmly, because we understand that Russia is trying to ignite internal hostility here,” said Serhii Petrovych.

He acknowledged that “sometimes there are incidents, because people are involved,” but refused to comment on the reasons behind these “incidents.”

“In general, this process is taking place peacefully, calmly, and with love,” Dumenko assured.

He added that he is working to build a “genuine, independent Church that will exist for centuries to come and strengthen our Ukrainian independence.”

According to him, the creation of such a religious structure is vital for the state: “This is important, because the Church plays a significant role. The granting of the Tomos was a historic decision – t’s like two wings: national independence and church independence.”

It should be recalled that at the time of the OCU’s formation, it nominally had around 6,000 parishes (4,500 from the Kyiv Patriarchate and 1,500 from the UAOC). In April 2024, the UOC Synod reported that approximately 1,500 churches had been seized by OCU representatives. Whether Dumenko’s statement means that another 1,500 churches have been taken over in the past year remains unclear.

Read also