Theologian of OCU calls seizure of UOC cathedral in Chernivtsi raiding

Yuriy Chоrnomorets. Photo: a screenshot of Chornomorets's YouTube

On June 22, 2025, Yuriy Chornomorets, a religious scholar, theologian, and supporter of the OCU, stated live on a Ukrainian TV channel that the events that took place on June 17 in Chernivtsi at the Holy Spirit Cathedral of the UOC essentially constitute an act of raiding, carried out with violence, without the participation of the actual parishioners of the church, under the guise of statements about transitioning to the OCU.

According to Chornomorets, "two thousand people registered as parishioners of three (!) different communities" were suspicious from the start. He noted that the actual parishioners of the cathedral, along with the priests, continued to gather for prayer and officially declared that they remain with the UOC.

He emphasized that the OCU Bishop Feognost of Chernivtsi was not present in the church (despite claims of praying there), and "some people in black clothing" forcibly broke into the church, beat parishioners, a priest, elderly women, and desecrated icons.

Videos of these events are freely circulating online. "It was barbarism," said Chornomorets.

"Again, if some believers of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine claim this church and assert that they are its parishioners – that they have been attending the Holy Spirit Church for decades and now decided to break with Moscow, – then show these believers," stated Chornomorets and continued: "Where are the hundreds, if not thousands, of such people who would come and stand in defense? There were almost none."

He also noted that the OCU did not apologize for the violence, but on the contrary – Metropolitan Epifaniy and Bishop Feognost made statements asserting their righteousness.

“No Gospel-based position, no reflection on their mistakes — just: ‘We are right because we are right’,” the theologian commented.

Chornomorets also highlighted that the UOC, unlike the OCU and the former Kyiv Patriarchate, never attempted to seize churches by force, even after 2010, when the only such incident occurred.

In his opinion, such behavior discredits not only the OCU but also Ukraine as a whole: "This is a complete disgrace... Accordingly, it leads to the discreditation of Ukraine in the international arena: while we need help from the West, we demonstrate that such fights are possible in and around churches. This is absolutely unacceptable."

Yuriy Chornomorets also expressed regret that the OCU acts with "Batko Makhno" methods, which are unacceptable from a Christian perspective.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that in a program on the YouTube channel «Veche», religious publicist and OCU believer Tetiana Derkach criticized the events in Chernivtsi.

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