Chernivtsi RSA actually transfers three churches of UOC in Chernivtsi to OCU

In February 2025, the Chernivtsi Regional State Administration effectively deprived the religious communities of the three largest churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Chernivtsi of their legal personality. The RSA re-registered the charters of the communities of the Holy Spirit Cathedral, St. Nicholas and St. Peter and Paul churches of the UOC, referring solely to the minutes of the territorial meetings of OCU supporters who voted “on the transfer of churches from the UOC to the OCU” with an obvious violation of procedures. The regional state administration did not take into account the minutes of similar meetings of the said UOC communities, which confirmed their desire to remain part of the canonical Church. This was reported by regional media.

It is reported that the re-registration of the Statutes of the three communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Chernivtsi to the OCU was carried out on February 20, 24 and 26, 2025. It was on these days that the head of the Chernivtsi Regional State Administration signed the relevant orders. In addition, according to the media, the regional administration did not take into account the position of the religious communities of the UOC, which also voted on their unwillingness to join the OCU.

Thus, the religious communities of the Holy Spirit, St. Nicholas, and St. Peter and Paul churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Chernivtsi have lost their legal personality, and these religious buildings can be seized by supporters of the OCU at any time.

As we reported earlier, on February 26, 2025, the state registrar of the Lviv Regional State Administration Solomiya Hryniv re-registered the Holy Spirit, St. Nicholas and St. Peter and Paul communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to the OCU. Yaroslav (Feognost) Bodoryak, the head of the Chernivtsi Diocese of the OCU, was appointed as the head of these religious organizations. The communities were re-registered despite the fact that the UOC communities had previously held a meeting at which they voted to refuse to change their confessional affiliation. Later it turned out that Ms. Hryniv had previously been awarded a diploma “For Merit to the OCU” by the head of the OCU, Epiphany Dumenko.