Met. Serhiy of Tulchyn prays with persecuted UOC community in Novozhyvotiv

UOC Church of the Intercession in Novozhyvotiv. Photo: Metropolitan Serhiy of Tulchyn

On July 26, 2026, the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost and the feast of the Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel, Metropolitan Serhiy of Tulchyn and Bratslav celebrated the Divine Liturgy with the community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the village of Novozhyvotiv, Vinnytsia Region, which has been without its church for a considerable time. The bishop reported this on his Facebook page.

The service was held in a converted space where the parishioners of the UOC Church of the Intercession are now forced to pray. Concelebrating with the hierarch were the parish rector, Archpriest Petro Monastyrskyi, and clergy of the Orativ Deanery.

Special prayers for peace in Ukraine were offered during the Liturgy. At the end of the service, Metropolitan Serhiy congratulated the faithful on the feast.

As previously reported by the UOJ, in February 2025, supporters of the OCU seized the Church of the Intercession in Novozhyvotiv. The Orthodox community was then forced to hold services in a small prayer space near the church. It was later destroyed, and the parish rector, Archpriest Petro Monastyrskyi, was attacked. Since then, the community has continued its liturgical life in a converted space.

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