UOC community of Yakushyntsi thwarts church seizure by OCU supporters

UOC parishioners and the Church of St. Seraphim of Sarov in Yakushyntsi. Photo: Pershyi Kozatskyi

On August 9, 2026, more than a hundred UOC faithful gathered outside the Church of St Seraphim of Sarov in the village of Yakushyntsi, Vinnytsia Region, and prevented OCU supporters from seizing the shrine, Pershyi Kozatskyi reports.

Attempts to transfer the parish to the OCU have been ongoing since March 2025. According to the outlet, meetings were organized and protocols documenting the supposed “transfer” were drawn up, which the UOC community says were falsified. Throughout this period, the faithful have been defending their rights to the parish and church through legal channels.

In July 2026, a new charter for the religious organization was registered. On July 21, the UOC community appealed these actions, but on the same day the legal entity was re-registered in the state register of legal entities. The re-registration was carried out despite the complaint filed by the UOC community.

On August 6, around 50 OCU supporters gathered near the church, while their cleric announced another meeting for August 9. On Sunday, more than a hundred UOC parishioners came to defend the shrine. Seeing the large number of faithful, OCU supporters, according to the source, abandoned their attempt to enter the church and did not provoke a confrontation.

The parishioners once again affirmed their loyalty to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church headed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry and said they intended to continue defending their church.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that an OCU cleric personally cut the locks off a church in Cherniavka during its seizure.

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