OCU responds to UGCC accusations of striving to become a state Church and seizing property

The press service of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) has published an official statement in response to recent remarks by the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), Sviatoslav Shevchuk. In his statement, Shevchuk accused the OCU of attempting to become a state Church and of appropriating the property of other denominations. The OCU titled its response: “A true word for all Christians of Ukraine: do not divide, but heal the wounds of war.” The message was published on the Telegram channel of Epiphaniy Dumenko’s organization.

The OCU emphasized that it does not view Shevchuk’s remarks as criticism but rather as “a Gospel warning meant to unite, not divide.”

According to the OCU, religious denominations in Ukraine should not see each other as enemies, since the real enemy is “the Russian aggressor who wants to sow discord among Ukrainians.”

The statement also described the UGCC leader’s words as “a spiritual bell for all,” and called on people to listen, warning that failure to do so could lead to the loss of the state.

Concluding the message, the OCU declared it “forgives” the UGCC and called for unity among religious denominations.

It is worth noting that Hryhoriy Petrushchak, priest of the OCU’s Intercession Church in Oleksandrivka, previously issued sharp criticism of the UGCC. In his comment, he responded to Shevchuk’s recent statement against the seizure of churches during wartime. According to the OCU priest, such claims do not reflect historical reality. He alleged that over the past decades, beginning in 1988, many Orthodox communities — particularly of the UAOC and UOC-KP — had allegedly been subjected to forceful pressure from Greek Catholics.