OCU provocateurs at Chernivtsi cathedral linked to violent seizures

The “prayer warriors” of the OCU turned out to be participants in church raids. Photo: UOJ

Two clerics of the OCU who on October 10 attempted to enter the Holy Spirit Cathedral of the UOC in Chernivtsi to hold a “moleben” turned out to have been involved in previous violent church seizures. The UOJ was informed of this by residents of the Bukovynian village of Zastavna, where these same “prayer warriors” had personally taken part in a church takeover and beaten parishioners.

Footage sent from Zastavna shows one of the provocateurs, together with a fellow “priest,” breaking open the gates to the Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos with a crowbar.

Once inside the church grounds, the same provocateur threw an elderly female parishioner to the ground and struck another woman several times with his elbow.

Cleric of the OCU Ioann Chokaliuk, said to be Epifaniy Dumenko’s uncle, also took part in the seizure of the UOC church in Zastavna.

Recall that on May 16, 2025, a group of raiders led by OCU clerics seized the UOC Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village of Zastavna, Chernivtsi region.

On June 17, 2025, OCU clerics headed by Chokaliuk brought a gang of thugs to the Holy Spirit Cathedral of the UOC in Chernivtsi, where they brutally beat the priests and seized the sacred site for several hours.

On October 10, 2025, two OCU clerics staged another provocation at the Chernivtsi cathedral, claiming they had “the blessing of Bishop Theognost to serve molebens” and that they were “residents of Chernivtsi.”

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