In the Mykolaiv region, a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, along with his congregation, broke away and joined the Orthodox Church of Ukraine

Archpriest Roman Mykhailiuk, rector of the religious community of St. Michael’s Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in Pervomaisk, Mykolaiv Oblast, announced that he and his congregation were joining the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). This decision was allegedly made “by a majority vote of active parishioners at a general meeting.” This was reported by the publication Suspilne.

The church’s rector, Archpriest Roman Mykhailiuk—who joined the territorial defense forces at the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war—noted that his transition to the OCU “is a logical response to the position of the church leadership, which refused to sever ties with Moscow.” The priest emphasized that he and his like-minded colleagues had repeatedly called on the church leadership to convene a synod to resolve the issue of independence, but all attempts went unanswered.

During the vote, 31 parishioners voted in favor of the transition, two voted against it, and one abstained. Parishioners note that the main goal of the transition to the “is the pursuit of spiritual independence and the conduct of worship services in the Ukrainian language.” According to the believers themselves, the process took place without any major conflicts—those who disagreed with the community’s decision chose to attend other churches.

According to the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, the St. Michael’s congregation became the ninth in the region to officially change its denominational affiliation. As of today, there are 166 OCU parishes and 290 UOC parishes registered in the Mykolaiv region.

As a reminder, it was previously reported that Metropolitan Alexy of Voznesensk and Pervomaisk , head of the Voznesensk Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, decided to relieve Archpriest Roman Mykhailiuk, the rector of St. Michael’s Church in the city of Pervomaisk. The disciplinary action was imposed after the cleric, together with the parish community, announced their transition to the OCU.