Priest who voluntarily joined OCU complains of having no parishioners

Illustrative photo. Priest and empty church. Photo: open sources

On October 8, 2025, the Facebook page of the Chernivtsi–Bukovyna Eparchy of the UOC published a message from the rector of one of the parishes who, several months earlier, had voluntarily joined the OCU. In his statement, the priest spoke of the difficulties he faced after the “transition” and openly admitted that his parish was left practically without a flock.

“It’s been five months since our parish joined the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Many people thought the church would soon cease to exist because there would be no parishioners. That didn’t happen – services are still being held – but there are very few people, about five to fifteen,” the priest wrote.

He confessed that he had hoped for the strengthening of the parish after the transition, but reality turned out differently: the number of parishioners had decreased, while financial hardship only deepened.

He noted that the parish is in dire need of funds: “Sometimes I spend more on travel than I receive for the service. On the Feast of the Protection of the Theotokos, there were only five people in the church, and I was given just thirty hryvnias in commemoration slips. Sometimes I return home after a Sunday service with 150–400 hryvnias and realize that this money has to feed my family for the entire week.”

He added that “several hundred people” had voted for the parish’s transition to the OCU, but most of them had never come to the church even once: “If people truly wanted a Ukrainian church here, they need not only to vote but to attend services and support the parish. Does anyone really need an OCU church here? And if so, who?” he asked.

The post drew a strong reaction among the faithful. In the comments, users pointed out that this situation is a typical example of how “loud transitions” turn out to be hollow in reality.

“This proves that the loudmouths who gather to ‘vote and switch’ have nothing to do with real parish life,” one commenter wrote.

Another added: “Unfortunately, this is observed in most cases of so-called transitions. We would be very glad if this priest, together with his flock, returned to the bosom of the Mother Church.”

Believers also expressed sympathy for the rector, noting that the priest had become “a hostage of political decisions and other people’s ambitions.” “He honestly told the truth – there is no life in these ‘transitions.’ Churches without believers are just walls,” another commenter wrote.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that in Brody, the OCU, with the help of UNA-UNSO, seized a private UOC church.

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