UOC Priest in Zakarpattia Announces Intention to Restore the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church

A priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Zakarpattia, Archpriest Dmytro Sydor, has announced that if the UOC is banned in Ukraine, he will initiate the restoration of the pre-Soviet Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church, which operated in the region before the arrival of Soviet rule. The priest’s statement was published on the TikTok account of the Uzhhorod Orthodox Cathedral of the UOC.

He made this statement in a comment, outlining his vision of how events might unfold should decisions be made at the state level to ban the UOC.

“If the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is banned in Kyiv, then we have the right to restore our Church — once destroyed by Soviet-Ukrainian Bolsheviks — which still exists among us today,” the priest stated.

He also expressed confidence that local authorities would not be able to prevent the registration of a new church structure if it is based on historical and international legal grounds:

“And if that Church is banned, then the local authorities will not dare to prevent us from registering ourselves under our local Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church, which we restored 103 years ago under Czechoslovakia and which was recognized by international law.”

It is also worth noting that the Uzhhorod community opposed the initiative of the Mukachevo Greek Catholic Eparchy to build a new garrison church near the “Kalvaria” cemetery. Despite support from some members of the city council, local residents unanimously opposed the project. They emphasized that the area already has enough religious buildings, including abandoned chapels that require restoration rather than new construction.