“Rector” of seized Kremenchuk cathedral refuses UOC parish access for prayer

OCU cleric Feodosii Ovcharuk barred the UOC community from praying in the seized Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kremenchuk. Photo: UOJ

On June 14, 2026, in Kremenchuk, OCU cleric Feodosii Ovcharuk, who refers to himself as the “rector” of the seized Holy Trinity Cathedral, blocked UOC parishioners from entering the church and refused to allow them to pray in their native shrine.

According to UOJ sources, the faithful came to the cathedral after a procession in response to a public invitation issued by Ovcharuk himself in an interview the day before. In practice, however, the OCU’s proclaimed “openness” proved illusory: the cathedral doors remained closed to believers who had begun building the church as far back as 1992.

“We built this church. I personally unloaded rebar here 30 years ago, and my father loaded every truck. Why are we not allowed inside?” parishioners asked, stressing that they were being treated as “second-class Ukrainians.”

The community held a meeting directly outside the cathedral walls. A total of 229 registered members of the religious community participated and unanimously expressed no confidence in Feodosii Ovcharuk and the current parish council. Kostiantyn Semeniuk was elected as the new chairman of the council.

Despite the presence of police and the peaceful nature of the gathering, Ovcharuk described the community’s actions as “illegal” and “criminal.” The faithful called on law enforcement officers to document what they described as violations of their rights and obstruction of their lawful religious activities.

The meeting concluded with a prayer service for the people and for Ukrainian soldiers. Community members stated that they intend to continue seeking the return of their church through legal means.

The forcible seizure of the cathedral took place on June 4, 2026. According to reports, OCU activists, supported by police and using physical force, entered the shrine. During the takeover, supporters of the structure headed by Epiphany Dumenko allegedly assaulted Archimandrite Joseph. One female parishioner also required medical assistance after suffering from the aggressive actions of the attackers.

Despite claims by the new administrators that the transfer was lawful and based on court decisions, the cathedral’s actual religious community maintains that the re-registration was carried out against its will and without regard for the views of those who had worshipped in the church for decades and helped build it with their own hands.

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