The Patriarchate of Constantinople continues the process of absorbing Ukrainian-speaking parishes abroad

The Patriarchate of Constantinople continues the process of absorbing Ukrainian-speaking parishes of the former UOC-KP and UAOC abroad. At a recent meeting of the Holy Synod, which took place in Phanar, a decision was made to annex one of such communities in Belgium. This was reported by the official website of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

It is reported that on August 31, 2025, during one of the meetings of the Holy Synod of the Church of Constantinople, a decision was made to accept the Ukrainian-speaking parish in honor of Archangel Michael in the city of Genk into the Holy Metropolis of Belgium.

As noted in the Synod’s decision, similar decisions have been made before. Relatively recently, one of the Ukrainian communities of the diaspora in Australia joined the Holy Metropolis of Australia.

Earlier, we reported that Ukrainian schismatics had formed a “chaplaincy mission” on the canonical territory of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia. The actual parish of the OCU in the Czech Republic will operate in the city of Brno, and the first religious event was held on August 23, 2025. The OCU is not deterred by the fact that the opening of parishes abroad is directly prohibited by the “Tomos of Autocephaly,” which provides for the organization to operate only within Ukraine.