Persecuted UOC parish in Yurkivtsi builds new church to replace seized one

The new church of the UOC parish dedicated to the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius in the village of Yurkivtsi. Photo: UOJ

On May 23, 2026, the religious community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church dedicated to the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius in the village of Yurkivtsi, Chernivtsi region, consecrated a new church built after their former church had been seized by supporters of the OCU, a UOJ correspondent reports.

The rite of consecration was led by Metropolitan Meletiy of Chernivtsi and Bukovyna, concelebrating with Archbishop Veniamin of Khotyn, Archbishop Afanasiy of Kamin-Kashyrskyi, Archbishop Syluan of Hertsa, Bishop Iov of Kitsman, and clergy of the Chernivtsi Eparchy.

For the community, the day became a special event after several years of trials and struggle for the right to remain faithful to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, parishioners said.

As previously reported by UOJ, in October 2022, parishioners of the St. Demetrius church held a meeting of the religious community, where they reaffirmed their loyalty to the UOC and to His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry. At that time, 322 members of the parish voted to remain within the UOC. Later, supporters of the OCU organized a separate meeting of the territorial community, where around 200 people were registered.

On March 18, 2023, the UOC church in Yurkivtsi was seized by OCU supporters with the participation of the police. During the assault, one of the parishioners had a finger torn off with a crowbar.

After the seizure, the faithful were left without their church, but they continued worship and began building a new one.

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