UOC-KP deals a significant blow to the presence of the OCU in the Czech Republic

on April 16, 2026, the head of the UOC-KP, Nikodim Kobzar, officially accepted a group of clergy and religious from the Czech Republic into the Kyiv Patriarchate. The Czech vicariate of the UOC-KP includes 10 parishes of the Ukrainian schism, formed in the Czech Republic in different years of the structure’s existence.

According to the information provided by Nikodym Kobzar on his Telegram channel, these are the parishes of the Ukrainian schism in Prague, Teplice (2), Most, Duchov, Bilyn, Dečín, Uste nad Labem, Litoměřice and Chomutov. The head of the UOC-KP published the relevant requests from the rectors of the mentioned communities, which were granted by him.

Thus, the situation led to the expansion of the UOC-KP’s presence in Europe and, as a result, a significant restriction of the OCU’s activities in the Czech Republic, whose representatives had previously claimed all the property of the Kyiv Patriarchate in Ukraine and abroad.

It is worth noting that earlier Ukrainian schismatics had already established a «chaplaincy mission» on the canonical territory of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia. The actual parish of the OCU in the Czech Republic will operate in the city of Brno, and the first religious event was held on August 23, 2025. The OCU is not deterred by the fact that the opening of parishes abroad is expressly prohibited by the «Tomos of Autocephaly», which provides for the organization’s functioning only within Ukraine.