A priest of the Izyum Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was banned from serving for evading schism

On August 27, 2025, by decree of Bishop John of Izyum and Kupyansk, Archpriest Vitaly Berkin was banned from serving as rector of the Church of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist in the village of Ternova, Chuguev District, Kharkiv Region. The priest is accused of schism. This was reported by the press service of the Izyum Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

It is reported that the punishment was imposed on the basis of the 10th, 11th, and 39th rules of the Holy Apostles, the 2nd rule of the Council of Antioch, for schism, gross violation of the oath of a clergyman, the Resolution of the Council of Bishops of the UOC of November 13, 2018, and the decisions of the Holy Synod of the UOC. The priest was dismissed from his position as rector of the St. John the Theologian Parish in Ternova, and he is prohibited from performing divine services, receiving the Holy Sacraments, wearing a pectoral cross, and wearing priestly vestments.

We recall that on April 9, 2025, the ruling bishop of the Ovruch Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Vissarion, issued a decree prohibiting the rector of the Holy Cross Church in the village of Kalynivka, Korosten District, Zhytomyr Region, Priest Vadim Gvozd, from serving. The reason for the ban was the priest’s defection to a schismatic church. On April 8, the priest transferred to the OCU.