Persecuted UOC community in Rzhavyntsi celebrates patronal feast
Believers celebrated Pentecost in the church they had built with their own hands after the forcible seizure of their former sanctuary by OCU supporters.
On June 1, 2026, on the day of the Holy Trinity, the community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the village of Rzhavyntsi celebrated their patronal feast. The celebration took place in a new church, which became a visible testimony to the steadfastness and living faith of the local residents, report believers of the Chernivtsi-Bukovyna Eparchy of the UOC on Facebook.
The festive Liturgy was led by Mitred Archpriest Dimitry Kozar. Together with the parish rector Archpriest Serhiy Kozar and the clergy of the eparchy, the faithful offered prayers for peace in Ukraine, deliverance from the enemy, and the strengthening of all who suffer and are destitute. Following the service, the faithful solemnly processed around the church, chanting prayers.
Rector Serhiy Kozar thanked the flock for their faithfulness to the Church and support, which was especially evident during the period of persecution. For Rzhavyntsi believers, this is already the second patronal feast they are celebrating in their own, newly built church.
It should be noted that on December 20, 2023, supporters of the OCU, with police backing, carried out a forceful seizure of the Holy Trinity Church in Rzhavyntsi. The raiders, under the protection of law enforcement officers, used an angle grinder and a crowbar to break open the doors of the shrine. The takeover was personally led by the head of the territorial community, Vitalii Shafer.
Despite losing the building, the community did not cease its prayer life but united and built a new church in the shortest possible time. In 2025, the believers of Rzhavintsy celebrated their first patronal feast in the new church, constructed to replace the seized one. The event became an important spiritual milestone for the community, which preserved its faithfulness to the canonical Church despite the persecution they endured.
