In Zhytomyr region, OCU activists locked themselves inside after raider seizure of UOC church and stayed for 10 hours

On August 6, around 4:00 a.m., a group of OCU activists entered the Holy Presentation Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the town of Dovbysh, Zvyagel district, Zhytomyr region. According to local believers, the intruders cut the locks and illegally entered the church, after which they locked themselves inside. The incident was reported by Suspilne Zhytomyr.

The UOC brethren and parishioners, upon learning this, gathered near the church and found the church doors locked, with unauthorized persons inside who had no permission from the community.

At that time, according to the OCU representatives themselves, there were 16 people inside the church, including a cleric of the OCU who was «called» to perform religious rites on the day of the new calendar feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. They stayed inside for more than 10 hours.

Later, OCU activists began claiming that the UOC believers had «locked them inside the church,» despite the fact that they themselves opened the church entrance at night and then locked themselves inside.

UOC representatives, including local resident Svitlana Orlovska, stated that this was not the first attempt at a raider seizure of the church by the OCU. UOC believers claim to have a full package of documents for the church and the land, while they consider the OCU’s documents doubtful and in need of judicial verification.

On their part, OCU representatives claim their community underwent an «official transition» in January 2025 and has state registration. Meanwhile, the UOC emphasizes that this is only the registration of a new structure, that the right to the church remains with the community, and that church property cannot be transferred bypassing the court and the will of the faithful.

Earlier, we reported that on July 17, 2025, the Kyiv Commercial Court issued a ruling refusing to satisfy a lawsuit demanding the cancellation of the illegal re-registration of the Holy Ascension religious community of the UOC in the town of Steblev, Cherkasy region, in favor of the OCU, which resulted in the seizure of the local Holy Ascension church of the UOC.