Chernivtsi ruling bishop appeals to Patriarch Bartholomew and Epifaniy

Metropolitan Meletiy appeals to Patriarch Bartholomew. PHoto: UOJ

On June 17, 2025, following the attempted seizure of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit by OCU supporters, Metropolitan Meletiy of Chernivtsi and Bukovyna issued a public appeal to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and the head of the OCU, Serhiy Dumenko (Epifaniy).

The UOC hierarch stated that by granting the Tomos to the OCU, the Ecumenical Patriarch had "created the disaster we are now witnessing."

Metropolitan Meletiy also addressed Dumenko directly, reminding him that in his native Bukovynian village, the OCU church stands empty, while his followers forcibly take over vibrant and active churches of the UOC:

“In his own village, the church they seized stands empty – the people went to pray in their homes, while the church building is deserted. Empty buildings with no worshippers. And that is the case throughout Bukovyna: wherever they’ve taken churches, we see the same desolation. If he thinks this is how he will drive us into his so-called church, he is mistaken,” said the bishop, calling on Dumenko to “put an end to these injustices, which we are sick and tired of in Bukovyna.”

The Metropolitan further stated that in the churches raided by the OCU, prayer has ceased, Divine Liturgies have stopped, and prayers for the soldiers defending Ukraine in the East have been silenced.

“And so once again I appeal to Epifaniy, head of the OCU – stop this insanity. Let us speak, let us sit down and talk in a human way – not in the language of Mr. Hryshchuk, whose church stands empty while he rants like a madman, staggering from church to church, breaking down doors and seizing them.”

The UOJ previously reported that UOC believers in Chernivtsi expelled the raiders from the cathedral.

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