Why do authorities use national security as a pretext to destroy the Church?
By now, there has been enough time to discern the logic behind the destruction of Orthodoxy in Ukraine. What does this strategy entail, and what part is assigned to the OCU in it?
Today, the Ukrainian authorities claim that the state is not fighting the Church as such; it is merely facilitating the transfer of church structures from a “Russian” to a “Ukrainian” jurisdiction. The stated goal is to ensure national security, since communities and monasteries of the UOC allegedly pose a threat to that security. This narrative is circulated in the media and presented to international partners and human rights organizations during numerous “advocacy” visits abroad.
In reality, however, the situation looks entirely different. The consequences of these actions are the partial or complete destruction of church communities, churches and monasteries that are closed or even demolished, and, as a result, a decline in the number of parishioners. The State Service for Ethnopolitics and the OCU claim that more than 2,000 UOC communities have voluntarily joined this structure. Yet two simple facts refute this: the miserable number of clergy who have transferred (not long ago, Dumenko gathered 38 people in Kyiv) and the large number of those supposedly “transferred” communities that in fact have not moved anywhere. After being expelled from their churches, they continue to pray in private houses, sheds, and other adapted premises. This category of “transfers” is the most common. There are also other cases when the authorities, under the pretext of the expiration or termination of a lease agreement, expel UOC communities from historic churches and then hand them over to the OCU. What happens then? We suggest taking a closer look at some of the most obvious cases.
Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra
The process of forcing the monastic community of the UOC out of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra has been going on for several years. Services accessible to the faithful are now held in only one temple – the St. Agapitus Church. It belongs to the monastery only nominally, since it is in fact located outside the monastery walls. Believers are denied access to the Lower Lavra, while the churches of the Upper Lavra are used either by a museum or by the OCU. When the state expelled the faithful from the Lavra, it promised a flourishing of Ukrainian Orthodoxy and the revival of the most famous monastery in Ukraine.
In reality, however, the opposite has occurred. The Caves are closed, veneration of the saints’ relics is unavailable, and the relics themselves are being examined by a vaguely defined commission composed of embryologists, archaeologists, and veterinarians. There are no regular services in the churches. When the OCU holds services at the Dormition Cathedral or the Refectory Church, even on feast days the churches stand empty.
Where prayer once resounded, and thousands of parishioners gathered for services, today there are cooking shows, “prayer breakfasts” with Zelensky, performances by song-and-dance ensembles, and similar events.
In 2023, a photo of the empty Refectory Church during an OCU “service” on the great feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord went viral online. At the time, Dumenko’s representatives assured that the situation was temporary, and the Lavra would soon be home to a vast community of believers.
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But now, 2.5 years later, we see almost the same picture—on the Great Feasts, the Lavra’s churches are almost empty. Here is a photo from the OCU “service” for the Presentation of the Lord (according to the new calendar). Despite the photographer’s efforts to shoot close-ups exclusively, it is clear that no more than a dozen people are present in the Refectory Church.
The OCU “service” for the Presentation of the Lord. Photo: OCU
At the same time, just a few years ago, during UOC services for the same feast of the Presentation of the Lord, the large Refectory Church was full.
Dormition (St. George’s) Cathedral, Kaniv
At the end of March 2024, the Economic Court of Kaniv ordered the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC to return the12th-century cathedral to state ownership. It was placed under the administration of the Kaniv National Shevchenko Reserve, and the OCU was allowed to hold services there.
In 2003, the cathedral was handed over to the UOC in a semi-ruined state: bare walls, a collapsed roof, no flooring, and so on. The UOC community restored it to a flourishing condition at their own expense. Naturally, no compensation for these costs is provided. But that is not the main point. When the cathedral belonged to the UOC, it had a large number of parishioners. Today, the cathedral is used by the OCU and, during services, is practically empty.
It is only full when the OCU leaders visit it, and attendance at the event is ensured through administrative measures.
Transfiguration Cathedral, Chernihiv
This cathedral was taken from the UOC in 2023 and handed over to the “Ancient Chernihiv” Reserve, which then allowed the OCU to move in. And the situation is the same: when it belonged to the UOC, the church was full of worshippers; under the OCU, it stands empty. Even for the “Christmas service” conducted by the Chernihiv OCU “bishop” Antoniy Firley, so few people attended that the authorities had to justify it, citing the war.
Since gathering people for prayer proved unsuccessful, they decided to turn the church into a cinema. In particular, on November 1, 2024, the cathedral hosted a screening of the documentary project “The Principality of Chernihiv: 1000 Years”.
As can be seen in the photo, the screen was installed in front of the Royal Doors, and the audience sat on chairs in the cathedral hall. This is the kind of “veneration” now shown to the holy site.
Besides the Transfiguration Cathedral, the authorities also took the Trinity and Dormition Cathedrals from the UOC in Chernihiv. This was done under the pretext of necessary restoration work. Naturally, no such work is being carried out, and the cathedrals remain empty.
Here is a very recent photo from a Sunday “service” of the OCU at the Trinity Cathedral after the UOC was expelled.
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When the cathedral belonged to the UOC, it was packed on Sundays. However, the authorities now organize theatrical performances, which also attract a considerable audience. During the Christmas festival, actors of the local drama theater performed folk dances right in front of the saints’ relics resting in the cathedral.
St. Michael’s Cathedral, Cherkasy
This cathedral was seized on October 17, 2024, in a brutal and bloody attack. Metropolitan Theodosiy of Cherkasy and Kaniv was beaten, along with priests and parishioners, some of whom ended up in the hospital. The attackers, numbering around a hundred, opened fire and a full-scale rampage in the cathedral, stealing money (over $60,000), documents, icons, and church vessels – all under the slogans of returning the cathedral to the “true Ukrainian Orthodoxy.”
As a result, the cathedral now stands empty during OCU services, even on major feast days. As in other churches, OCU photographers try to take close-up shots exclusively, but even in those images the gaping emptiness is evident.
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Dormition Cathedral, Volodymyr
At the end of 2025, the authorities expelled the parish from the cathedral in Volodymyr. At first, the faithful were forced to pray outside at the tiny Volodymyr Chapel, but later they found a spacious adapted room in a former canteen.
And what about the cathedral itself? As in other places, the authorities ceremoniously handed it over to the OCU. Also, as elsewhere, a pompous “service” was organized by OCU head Serhiy Dumenko, with the authorities transporting people by bus from neighboring towns. The streets were even closed off for the event. But once Dumenko left, and the “parishioners” departed, the next day’s “liturgy” at the Dormition Cathedral on Sunday (!) was attended by no more than a dozen people.
Church of the Tithes, Kyiv
The authorities completely demolished this church. It happened on the night of May 16–17, 2024. First, buses carrying police and military personnel arrived at the monastery grounds. A cordon was set up, and construction equipment and dump trucks were brought in. Then, the church was destroyed with an excavator bucket, loaded onto a dump truck, and taken to a landfill.
No restoration, no transfer to the OCU – simply demolished, and that’s it.
And these are cases of city cathedrals; in the villages, the situation is even worse. People are not joining the OCU, and the churches have neither the funds to repair nor even to heat the buildings. A typical example is the infamous town of Bucha near Kyiv, where the authorities took almost all UOC churches. One of the “transferred” churches is on the verge of closure. After the takeover, the parish priest had to leave, and the OCU never appointed a new priest. In the seized church, only one person remained, selling candles and accepting prayer petitions and donations. There are no services, rent is not paid, and the building owner demands eviction. This fate befalls many churches that have been “transferred” to the “right” denomination.
Authorities’ attitude toward religious buildings
Cathedrals and monasteries are taken from the UOC and placed under the administration of state historical and cultural reserves or similar institutions. But do these institutions have the resources or the desire to maintain these temples properly? Obviously, no. Very recently, the UOC Information and Educational Department published a report on how, with the state’s tacit consent, religious buildings across Ukraine are being destroyed and falling into disrepair regardless of their denominational affiliation. This includes the 18th-century Carmelite Monastery in the village of Kysylyn, Volyn region; the 16th-century Nativity of the Theotokos Monastery in the village of Novyi Zahoriv; the Church of St. John of Nepomuk in the village of Turylche, Ternopil region; and many other sites.
The result is that the state takes churches from the UOC and turns them into movie theaters, film sets, dance floors, etc. When churches are handed over to the OCU, the lack of attendance at services prove that eventually they face the same fate, serving secular purposes. Over time, they deteriorate and fall into ruin. And this has happened before. In Soviet times, authorities acted in the same way: they first seized churches, then (if they did not demolish them immediately) converted them into clubs or grain warehouses, and eventually simply abandoned them, leaving time to do its destructive work.
OCU’s role
The OCU claims to be an Orthodox Church. Moreover, it presents itself as the only canonical church in Ukraine and calls on the UOC to return to the “fold of canonical Orthodoxy.” But let’s look at the results of the OCU’s relatively short activity, historically speaking.
Under the banner of the OCU, roughly 2,000 churches have been taken from the people who built, restored, maintained, and beautified them. Among these are cathedrals, ancient monasteries, and centers of religious life in many cities. The “transfers” of these churches have occurred against the backdrop of OCU churches themselves being far from full. Naturally, the same fate awaits the new acquisitions. Where are the parishioners to come from if there aren’t enough even for the “authentic” OCU churches? Their fate is predetermined: either the rare OCU “services” or use for secular events. Over time, they will deteriorate and fall into ruin. Even if the OCU wanted to, it does not have the funds to maintain or repair them. And the state certainly does not care.
Nevertheless, the process continues. Calls for further church seizures continue to come from politicians and activists of various levels, all under the slogan of “liberation from spiritual occupation” and the flourishing of Ukrainian Orthodoxy under the omophorion of the OCU. But there is no flourishing – only decline and destruction. Seized churches mean not only the cessation of services but, in many cases, the closure of Sunday schools, charitable canteens, and so on.
To this must be added the blocking of all Orthodox websites, the eviction of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary from the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, and the cessation of book and journal publishing – all under the banner of the national church, i.e. the OCU.
Does the OCU really not see that, in fact, its activity is producing very bitter results? Orthodoxy is not flourishing; it is being destroyed. What will happen if this trend continues? The state will keep taking churches and monasteries from the UOC, but they will not be filled with OCU worshippers. This can already be stated. A hundred years ago, the Bolsheviks openly destroyed the Church: temples were blown up or closed, and priests were executed. Today, the same is happening under the cover of rhetoric about a “national church.” But is there really a difference? In the end, the churches are just as empty, and priests are physically eliminated through mobilization.
Analyzing what is happening today, one gets the impression that the state’s goal is not to fight the “wrong” denomination at all. It is a fight against Orthodoxy in Ukraine. The Bolsheviks had their own “OCU” too – the Renovationists, who did everything to prove their loyalty and devotion to the state. Did it help them? No, it didn’t. The Renovationists were destroyed. And Dumenko would do well to remember that.
