In Komariv, UOC church "peacefully transferred" to OCU in presence of special forces
The church in Komariv was seized under police supervision, and UOC believers were denied access even to the old temple, forcing them to travel to a neighboring village for services.
On March 11, 2026, in the village of Komariv, Chernivtsi region, the Dormition Church of the UOC was taken under control by OCU representatives in the presence of a special forces unit and 10 police crews. All this happened despite previous guarantees from the local village head about a peaceful resolution of the situation, report UOJ sources.
According to clergyman Father Clement, the believers expected that they would be able to continue services in the old small church that stands nearby on the church grounds. Therefore, they agreed to hand over the keys to avoid confrontations. However, when parishioners came to the church in the morning, they found a large police presence there and a whole bus with a special unit. When believers asked why such measures were necessary, the village head stated that he "didn't know" how the special forces ended up at the scene.
Later, accompanied by a group of OCU chaplains, Roman Hryshchuk also arrived, advising to perceive such "peaceful transitions" as "God's will."
According to a UOJ source, the agreements that the UOC community would be left with the old church turned out to be deception: "They had hope until the very end that OCU supporters would allow them to serve there. But they were made to understand that they wouldn't be able to serve there either." Now, believers are forced to travel to services in a neighboring village while simultaneously looking for a house in Komarove itself to organize a prayer space, a search complicated by a sharp rise in real estate prices in the region due to the influx of displaced persons.
Earlier, the UOJ analyzed how the OCU initiated scandals at military funerals in order to organize seizures.
