As reported, the Chernivtsi Regional State Administration recently published information on how many communities and churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have been re-registered in favor of the OCU since 2022. In total, the Chernivtsi Regional State Administration took away 25 churches from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the region.
OCU supporters seize another UOC church in Bukovina
On April 5, 2025, supporters of the OCU seized the church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in honor of the Holy Great Martyr Dmitry of Thessalonica in the village of Panka, Chernivtsi region. The seizure of the temple took place despite the fact that the village already has the Assumption Church of the OCU, where adherents of the Ukrainian schism can fully meet their religious needs. This is reported by the website Orthodoxy.ru.
It is reported that on February 23, 2024, a general meeting of the religious community was held in the village of Panka, which was attended by 595 believers. They all unanimously reaffirmed their loyalty to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church led by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv. The minutes of the meeting were handed over to the Chernivtsi Regional Military Administration.
Despite this, the votes of the UOC believers were not taken into account, and the Chernivtsi Regional State Administration gave preference to the supporters of the OCU in this matter. The religious community was re-registered to the OCU, which became the basis for the seizure of St. Dmitry’s Church of the UOC. In this regard, the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are forced to pray in the open air.
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