Authorities transfer UOC church to OCU in Rivne region

On May 2, 2025, a commission of the Rivne Regional State Administration drew up an act of acceptance and transfer of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the village of Stadnyky. According to the Rivne Diocese of the UOC, the church had been closed for three years as it was the subject of an interfaith conflict between the local communities of the UOC and the OCU. This was reported by the press service of the Rivne Diocese of the UOC.

According to a representative of the diocese, the church was closed and sealed due to a conflict between local residents three years ago. For a long time, the building remained the subject of litigation. However, this time, representatives of the Rivne Regional State Administration actually carried out the process of “acceptance and transfer”, completely disregarding the opinion of the community of the Nativity of the Virgin Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

“This church was closed, our community held services in the church house, as there was an illegal re-registration from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. In my opinion, the actions that took place in the church today are similar to the actions of the commissioners during the Soviet Union, when they came to the church, took people and the priest from the church, and turned the church itself into museums or granaries,” – said the head of the Legal Department of the Rivne Diocese of the UOC.

In turn, the OCU refused to comment on what is happening, noting that they “do not know that the church is being transferred to their property.”

Earlier, the head of the Cherkasy Diocese of the OCU, Ivan Yaremenko, announced the seizure of two more churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Cherkasy. These are churches in honor of the Nativity of Christ and the Apostle Andrew the First-Called. Yaremenko claims that the OCU will “enter their churches” after Easter.