OCU thanks Novovolynsk mayor for transporting people to Dumenko's "service"

Epifaniy Dumenko. Photo: "Nashe misto" Facebook page

On February 6, 2026, supporters of the OCU and representatives of the Intercession, St. Michael's, and Holy Spirit religious communities of the OCU published gratitude to Novovolynsk Mayor Borys Karpus for providing transport to the Holy Dormition Cathedral in Volodymyr, from which the authorities had previously expelled the UOC. The corresponding post was published on the Facebook page of the edition "Nashe misto".

he publication states: “It was a solemn moment — to be together on a historic day, when the ancient church heard the Ukrainian language for the first time, when it was finally freed from Moscow’s shackles, and when it marked its existence within the Ukrainian Church. Thanks to you, we could easily attend the Divine service, which was led by Metropolitan Epifaniy, head of the OCU.”

Thus, the OCU continues to demonstrate close ties with state structures. New information has emerged indicating that activists of this organization were centrally brought to the Dormition Cathedral, which was handed over to the OCU after the expulsion of the UOC. At the same time, the transportation was not carried out by the OCU itself, but with the support of local authorities, presumably at the expense of public funds.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that authorities seized icons and a reliquary from the nuns of Krupytsky Monastery.

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