OCU in Volyn names the number of “transferred” UOC communities and clergy

Mykhailo Zinkevych with a representative of a “transferred” community. Photo: OCU

The press service of the Volhynian eparchy of the OCU announced statistics on “transfers” into that structure from the UOC over a seven-year period. According to OCU representatives, since the organization’s inception, 139 churches have “transferred” to it – along with only 19 priests.

The OCU eparchy did not explain the reason for such a discrepancy in the figures.

As a reminder, on December 15, 2025, marking the seventh anniversary of the “unification council,” Serhiy Dumenko gathered in Kyiv those UOC clerics who had voluntarily joined his structure. There turned out to be 38 of them. At the same time, the head of the OCU claims that more than 2,000 UOC communities have transferred to his organization voluntarily.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that, according to Metropolitan Anthony, the UOC’s chancellor, “voluntary transfers” of churches to the OCU are a lie. Metropolitan Anthony emphasized that now they often do not even stage community meetings. Churches and church property are quietly re-registered under the OCU, after which UOC representatives are simply informed that they are no longer the “owners.” This is precisely how the appearance of “voluntary transfers” is created – the very transfers that OCU representatives publicly proclaim.

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