OCU reports priest shortage at 2,000 parishes
OCU cleric Andrii Dudchenko said that around 2,000 parishes remain without priests.
Andrii Dudchenko, a cleric of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), said the organization lacks enough priests to serve 2,000 parishes. He made the statement during an appearance on the Pravoslavni Skhidniaky channel.
According to Dudchenko, approximately 2,000 churches have no clergy. He claimed that around 1,000 communities had "transferred" to the OCU, while acknowledging that most had done so without their priests. As a result, the number of parishes registered under the OCU exceeds the number of clergy available to serve them.
Asked by the host about the reasons for the shortage, Dudchenko said that priestly training has failed to keep pace with the "growth" in the number of communities. He also acknowledged that few applicants are enrolling in theological schools.
When asked whether the situation could be described as a crisis of faith, he said it was more of an institutional problem. He also pointed to the particular nature of the calling to the priesthood.
As the UOJ previously reported, OCU representatives complained that 90% of the communities that had "transferred" to the organization were left without priests.
