Yelensky reveals how many UOC churches have “joined” OCU

Victor Yelensky. Photo: Radio Svoboda

Viktor Yelensky, Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, told Radio Svoboda about the number of religious communities that have “transitioned” from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU).

According to him, since the Tomos was granted in 2019, over 1,900 communities have been transferred to the OCU. At the same time, Yelensky noted that more than 10,000 UOC communities remain in Ukraine today, around 8,000 of which are located in territories controlled by the Ukrainian government.

According to the official, the highest number of communities that “joined” the OCU is in the Volyn, Kyiv, and Khmelnytskyi regions. However, he also pointed out that the situation with transitions is “difficult” in the Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Donetsk, and Kherson regions.

“But that’s understandable. Where active hostilities are taking place, there’s no time for transitions,” Yelensky commented.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that Yelensky avoided answering a question regarding the legality of the “transfer” of the UOC cathedral in Chernivtsi.

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