OCU posts video disproving its claims to Cherkasy cathedral

Still from archival footage of St. Michael's Cathedral under construction in Cherkasy. Photo: OCU cathedral's Facebook page

Representatives of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), who seized St. Michael's Cathedral in Cherkasy, have posted archival footage of the cathedral's construction on their Facebook page – footage that contradicts their claims to the church.

The video, from the personal archive of UOC Cherkasy Eparchy cleric Serhii Chumak, was submitted to the court by attorneys as evidence that the cathedral was built by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, not by local authorities or the OCU. The footage accompanied a motion to admit the Cherkasy Eparchy to the proceedings as a third party.

Under court procedure, the other parties should gain access to these materials only after the court rules on the eparchy's motion to join the case – a decision that has yet to be made. Nevertheless, the video somehow came into the possession of OCU representatives, who made it publicly available.

The footage undermines Dumenko's organization's claims to St. Michael's Cathedral and the surrounding complex of buildings, as all those shown in the video were, and remain, clergy and parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

A hearing was scheduled for October 29, 2026, at the Commercial Court of Cherkasy Region in a lawsuit brought by local authorities and the OCU seeking to have the cathedral and diocesan building complex transferred to them, thereby legally formalizing the seizure. However, the plaintiffs failed to appear. It was in connection with these proceedings that UOC attorneys submitted the archival footage.

The OCU seized the Archangel Michael Cathedral of the UOC in Cherkasy on October 17, 2024. During the takeover, men wearing camouflage and balaclavas stormed the church during a nighttime Divine Liturgy, beat parishioners, deployed tear gas, and fired traumatic weapons.

More than 10 believers were injured in the violent assault, while Metropolitan Theodosiy of Cherkasy and Kaniv was diagnosed with a concussion and corneal burns.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Metropolitan of Cherkasy described the authorities' strategy for taking control of the cathedral.

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