Rivne region resident convicted for claiming OCU seizes churches

A Rivne region resident convicted over Facebook posts.

The court found the resident of Rivne region guilty of distributing publications that, in the court's opinion, contained signs of inciting religious hatred and degrading OCU believers.

According to the verdict of the Volodymyrets District Court, the resident of the Rivne region posted content on Facebook in which he condemned the actions of Metropolitan Epifaniy, head of the OCU, used offensive language toward supporters of the organization, and spoke about the exclusivity of the UOC.

One such post, published on December 14, 2024, was titled: “The SBU and GPU confirmed that the UOC Is not the ‘Moscow Church’.” According to the case materials, it contained “demeaning statements regarding the religious beliefs of OCU supporters.”

In April 2025, the same individual published another post reading: “If the OCU is the true historical Church of Ukraine, then why is it seizing churches and monasteries?”

The court found that this post also contained critical and offensive remarks, along with “promotion of UOC exclusivity” and “incitement of hatred between UOC and OCU believers”.

He was charged under Part 1 of Article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — violation of citizens' equality based on their religious beliefs.

Judge Liudmyla Kotyk found the resident guilty and imposed a fine of 3,400 hryvnias.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that during the seizure of a cathedral in Chernivtsi, OCU activists beat a UOC deacon and brutally assaulted a UOC priest.

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