В ПЦУ заявили, что переименуют захваченный Александро-Невский храм в ОдессеThe OCU announced they will rename the seized St. Alexander Nevsky Church in Odessa
During the seizure of a church in Odessa, raiders from the OCU beat the secretary of the Odessa diocese of the UOC.
A cleric of the OCU in Odessa, Teodor Orobets, has stated that his organization intends to rename the Church of Alexander Nevsky, which was seized from the UOC on June 23, 2026.
He published a video showing a group of unidentified men walking across the church grounds and entering the building. Orobets claims that "the real parishioners of the church" — whom he identified as "our veterans, priests, and chaplains — are entering their church."
He also stated that the church "will henceforth be named in honor of Saint Venerable Agapitus of the Kyiv Caves."
In another video filmed from inside the church, Orobets expresses indignation at a fresco depicting the Royal Passion-Bearers, Andrei Bogolyubsky, and Dmitry Donskoy. "Not a single one of ours," a voice is heard saying off-camera.
According to Orobets, the church also contains icons of "Matrona of Moscow and Xenia of St. Petersburg — markers of Moscow religious life."
The spokesman of the Odessa Diocese of the UOC, Deacon Andrei Palchuk, stated that what occurred was a straightforward seizure of the shrine by people who had no connection to the church whatsoever. According to him, during the seizure the raiders assaulted the secretary of the Odessa Diocese.
The UOJ previously reported that an attempted seizure of a UOC church was taking place in Odessa.
