UOC to appeal against attempt to illegally reregister parish in Yakushyntsi

The Seraphim parish of the UOC in Yakushyntsi. Photo: Dozor

On April 30, 2025, parishioners of the Seraphim Church of the UOC and activists of the OCU, who held a meeting the day before regarding the "transfer" of the Orthodox parish to their structure, will meet at the Vinnytsia RMA. As reported by the Telegram channel "Dozor", the agency, according to the "new protocols," had to notify the religious community that a request had been submitted to change its jurisdiction.

"For the first time in years of raider seizures of Orthodox churches, another attempt by OCU activists to take the shrine will be considered at the RMA level," the message states.

On April 27, activists of the Dumenko structure held an illegal meeting, gathering supporters of the OCU from the neighboring village of Zarvantsi.

"The entire process of the unlawful meeting was accompanied by mass falsifications and violations of the law. The falsified documents for the church were submitted by the activists to the Vinnytsia RMA for re-registration. But unexpectedly, a process began that they did not anticipate," the Dozor writes.

According to their information, RMA officials had to act according to new protocols, which no longer imply a "blind" transfer of UOC churches to Epifaniy's structure.

"The actual parish of the church — the believers of the UOC — were officially notified of the attempt to make changes to the registry. A process has begun that allows challenging the actions of the activists," Orthodox journalists note.

It is reported that on April 30, UOC parishioners and OCU activists will meet at the Vinnytsia RMA to discuss this issue.

"The Yakushyntsi case is becoming very important. It will show whether it is possible to protect the church from raider seizure under the new rules," the Dozor concludes.

As reported by the UOJ, in Brovary, the OCU seized St. Peter and Paul's Cathedral.

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