A hierarch of the OCU called for the destruction of the UOC, calling it a “cancerous tumor”

Serhiy Gorobtsov, head of the Donetsk Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), issued a scathing statement in which he called the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) an “enemy” and a “cancerous tumor” within the body of the state. In his view, achieving a final victory is impossible without completely eliminating the influence of this religious organization within the country.

On his Facebook page , Gorobtsov expressed his conviction that the Moscow Patriarchate poses a threat that is “in some ways more dangerous than Kadyrov’s forces or the Russian National Guard.” The OCU hierarch emphasized that the struggle is not over territory but over the souls of citizens, and accused the UOC of depriving people of their freedom and dignity. According to him, only those churches that pray exclusively for their people and defenders should remain within the state.

In addition, the OCU representative criticized UOC clergy for continuing to remain with their parishioners in combat zones. It is worth noting that Gorobtsov himself previously left the Donetsk and Mariupol dioceses of the OCU and is currently carrying out his criminal activities in Kyiv, in particular by participating in the forcible seizure of UOC churches.

As a reminder, earlier, the head of the Donetsk Diocese of the OCU, SergiyGorobtsov, announced that the Church of St. John the Warrior of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in the Bykivnya district of Kyiv had been taken under control. According to a statement by OCU hierarch Serhiy Gorobtsov made on February 14, 2026, the incident occurred following the “re-registration of the parish.” However, representatives of the UOC claim that the actions were carried out by people with no connection to the parish and are challenging the legitimacy of both the seizure itself and the re-registration that preceded it.