OCU says it will remove frescoes and murals from seized Odesa church

A fresco depicting St. Alexander Nevsky. Photo: open sources

The Odesa Eparchy of the OCU stated that the takeover of the St. Alexander Nevsky Church from the UOC was “an act of restoring historical justice,” noting that the church’s rector, Fr. Viktor Hradomskyi, has been listed on the Myrotvorets website and was stripped of Ukrainian citizenship by President Zelensky. The statement also indicated that the church’s frescoes and murals would be removed.

“Frescoes and murals depicting Russian historical figures who have no connection to the saints of universal Orthodoxy will be replaced in accordance with Orthodox canonical tradition and the realities of contemporary Ukraine,” the statement reads.

The authors of the statement did not specify which frescoes they believe “have no connection to the saints of universal Orthodoxy.”

Particular attention was devoted to the image of the Holy Right-Believing Prince Alexander Nevsky, to whom the church is dedicated. Representatives of the Dumenko-led structure argued that the veneration of the saint near a Ukrainian medical institution is “unacceptable.”

The OCU also intends to rededicate the church in honor of St. Agapitus of the Kyiv Caves. At the same time, it dismissed reports of a forcible seizure of the church as “deliberate manipulation” and a “provocation.”

As previously reported, on June 23, 2026, representatives of the OCU, assisted by employees of the private security company Samson, forcibly took control of the St. Alexander Nevsky Church of the UOC located on the grounds of a military hospital in Odesa. During the takeover, the attackers reportedly assaulted the secretary of the Odesa Eparchy and several parishioners and expelled the clergy of the canonical Church from the shrine.

The Odesa Eparchy of the UOC has officially rejected the OCU’s claims of a “voluntary transfer” of the parish, describing the documents concerning the change of jurisdiction as forged and characterizing the actions of the takeover group as a raider seizure.

As the UOJ reported, Ostapenko recently commented on whether the fresco of St. Seraphim of Sarov in the Lavra would be painted over.

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