Head of Rivne Eparchy of OCU calls on clergy and believers of UOC in the region to unite

The head of the Rivne Diocese of the OCU, Hilarion Protsyk, called on the clergy and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Rivne region to “truly break away from Moscow” and join the Ukrainian schism. Protsyk believes that at the UOC Council in Feofaniya in 2022, the Church made only cosmetic changes to the Charter, but remained subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate. The statement of the head of the Rivne Diocese of the OCU was published on the organization’s website.

“A real departure from Moscow is not a cosmetic change in the statute. This is a deep, holistic, canonical, spiritual separation from the religious system that blesses war, justifies violence, and spreads the ideology of the “Russian world,” which is anti-gospel and anti-Christian in nature. That is why today, as a brother, as an archpastor, I call on you again: unite with the local Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the only canonical Church of the Ukrainian people, recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarch and other local Churches. The Church that prays in its native language, that stands beside soldiers and volunteers, that blesses the truth, not tyranny,” — Protsyk said.

He added that the transition to the OCU is not a betrayal. In his opinion, joining the OCU is “spiritual liberation” and “return to the truth.”

“The Orthodox Church of Ukraine is not a political project, as some people try to convince. It is the fruit of a century-long struggle for spiritual freedom. It is the answer to millions of prayers, shed blood, patience and sacrifice of our people. Unity with the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine is not a betrayal, it is loyalty to Christ. It is a return to the truth. It is spiritual liberation. We are waiting for you — not with resentment, but with open arms. Like a father to his son. As brother to brother. Because we are not enemies. We are one family. One nation. One Church. In our eparchy, dozens of communities have already made this choice. And all of them say the same thing: “We again felt that we are standing before God, not before an official. We pray in our language again. We are at home again,” — said the head of the Rivne Eparchy of the OCU.

As reported, on May 22, 2025, representatives of the OCU and the UGCC held joint religious events on Tarasova Hill on the occasion of the 164th anniversary of the reburial of the famous Ukrainian writer Taras Shevchenko. The memorial service for Shevchenko was led by the head of the OCU Epiphany Dumenko. Together with him, representatives of the UGCC, whom the writer himself noted in his writings with unflattering words, pointing to the disastrousness of the union for the Ukrainian people, “prayed for Taras Shevchenko.”