UOC Priest: “If the UOC is banned, communities will restore registration as the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church”

The rector of the Exaltation of the Cross Cathedral of the UOC in Uzhhorod, Archpriest Dmytriy Sydor, stated that in the event of a law banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, its communities will restore legal registration as the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church. The priest made this statement during a sermon on August 19, 2025.

“Just as 104 years ago, the people of Uzhhorod gathered and declared: ‘We are not Czech, not Serbian, not Constantinopolitan, but the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church.’ Period. This was recorded in the legislation of Czechoslovakia. Now, if the Kyiv Metropolia is deregistered and the UOC is banned, we warn everyone: our registration as the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church is automatically reinstated,” Father Dmytriy emphasized.

According to him, the formal changes will affect only the name in the statutes: the word “Ukrainian” will be replaced with “Carpatho-Russian.”

“You don’t need Russian, you don’t need Ukrainian – we return to our own,” the priest stressed.

Archpriest Dmytriy also noted that the security services have already threatened him online, claiming that the community would not be allowed new registration. However, he explained that the law explicitly requires authorities to register religious organizations within 10 days. Even if the state evades this requirement, the community will operate legally:

“We are not asking you. There is a law on nationalities and on religious organizations. If you don’t want to register – there will be no seal, but the community will live. And you can think as much as you want.”

It is also recalled that the head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) claims that if the Ukrainian Orthodox Church does not comply with state requirements and does not sever ties with the Moscow Patriarchate by August 24, the State Service will file a lawsuit to fully ban the UOC. The official also claims that court proceedings on this matter will be completed much faster than the UOC expects.