Came to What Was Ready: OCU Holds First “Prayer Service” in Seized UOC Church in Kropyvnytskyi

On April 3 in Kropyvnytskyi, representatives of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) held their first so-called “prayer service” in what is now called a garrison church — a church building that had been used by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) community for 36 years. The city council made the decision to transfer the complex to the OCU for 25 years of free use on March 25. This was reported by Suspilne Kropyvnytskyi.

On April 3, the keys to the church, along with icons and other church property, were handed over to the city’s department of communal property. UOC cleric Archpriest Andriy Tolubets stated:
“After the city council’s decision, all church property was taken out by inventory, as it belongs to the UOC community.”

The first «prayer service» in the OCU church was led by Mark, head of the Kropyvnytskyi and Holovanivsk diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. According to OCU military chaplain Volodymyr Shevchenko, the «service» was attended by military personnel, veterans, their relatives, representatives of public organizations, and other city residents.

“This was a very important historical decision. It had to be implemented so that military personnel and their families could feel a direct connection to the Church,” said Shevchenko.
“When the Church acts as a backbone, it becomes a guarantee of our victory,” he added.

According to the chaplain, the decision was not difficult for the OCU but was important for society:
“The most important thing is the shift in society’s consciousness. There is a need for a single Orthodox Church in Ukraine — autocephalous and canonical.”

Yana Pshenitsyna, executive director of the charitable foundation “Prince Sviatoslav the Brave Regiment,” stated that the initiative to transfer the church to the OCU came from the military and their families:
“We discovered documents showing that the [UOC community] had been there without legal grounds, as there was no formal property title for the building or land.”

According to Suspilne’s estimates, about one hundred people attended the service.

As a reminder, on March 25, 2025, the Kropyvnytskyi City Council (formerly Kirovohrad – ed.) transferred ownership of the local UOC Pokrova (Intercession) Church and its surrounding buildings to the OCU. The transfer was initiated at the request of several public organizations. The church is now designated as a “garrison church.”