Ministry of Culture transfers Kaniv Cathedral seized from UOC to OCU

The head of the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, Mykola Tochytskyi, announced the transfer of the Holy Dormition (St. George) Cathedral in Kaniv to the OCU. The head of the Ministry of Culture called the transfer of the church to the Ukrainian schism “the purification of Ukrainian shrines.” The official wrote about this on his Facebook account.

«Today, the Assumption Cathedral in Kaniv was officially transferred to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. His Beatitude Epifaniy held the first crowded All-Ukrainian Interfaith Prayer, which marked this historic step. The temple where the Ukrainian community said goodbye to Taras Shevchenko for two days 164 years ago is finally in the spiritual space of Ukraine, freed from the parasitism of Moscow clergy. The process of cleansing Ukrainian shrines is a priority that requires effective solutions. Moreover, the activities of Moscow religious organizations are prohibited by law,» — Tochytsky wrote.

Earlier, representatives of the Shevchenko National Reserve spoke about how they will use the Holy Dormition (St. George) Cathedral of the Cherkasy Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Kaniv, which was taken away from the local religious community of the UOC. According to the officials, first of all, the cathedral will be restored, after which excursions will be held in the church and, possibly, religious events will be resumed, which will be held by representatives of the OCU.