"One per month": OCU tells how many UOC churches they manage to “transfer” in Bukovina

The head of the Chernivtsi Diocese of the OCU, Theognost Borodyak, spoke about how many churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Bukovyna have been “transferred” to the organization he leads. Borodyak complains that in the region it is extremely difficult to convince the UOC believers of the need to transfer to the OCU, however, there are still some progress in this matter. He said this in an interview with the regional edition of the ACC.

“I will talk about the situation after my arrival, namely, from the beginning of February, when the Synod appointed me as the bishop of the Chernivtsi-Bukovyna Diocese. Now in Bukovyna, approximately one parish a month decides to join the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Of course, this is not enough. But at the same time, we are grateful that people have realized that they are thus taking the side of their people, their church, their defenders, choosing the truth, taking the side of truth,” — Borodyak said.

Borodyak added that in all cases, the “transitions” of communities from the UOC to the OCU take place in accordance with the letter of the law, and if there is information about clashes between believers, it is all “information provocations.”

“Our parishioners have never acted against the law of Ukraine. Every time the transitions took place, people entered the churches only with documents and all legal grounds. There was no other option. Although there are many provocations, “pictures” that are created for parishioners who blindly believe their priests from the UOC (MP). I will say more, there are already several priests who have transferred, we have not yet announced their names, but they will join our diocese. I communicated with them with great joy, I accepted them, but the official transition will take place soon,” — he added.

Earlier we reported that the Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Daniel of Romania, called on the Romanian government to influence the Ukrainian authorities in connection with the scandal over the Three Saints’ Church, the tomb of the Bukovinian metropolitans of the Romanian-speaking parish of the UOC of Chernivtsi, which the city authorities sealed and transferred to the OCU. Patriarch Daniel believes that such actions of the Chernivtsi city authorities are pressure on the Orthodox Romanians of Bukovyna.