UOC temple seized in Brody with forceful support of UNA-UNSO

In the city of Brody, Lviv region, on October 4, 2025, representatives of the OCU held religious events in the St. Vladimir’s Church, which belongs to the community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). The seizure of the church, which is the private property of believers and was closed by the authorities in 2023, was facilitated by members of the nationalist organization UNA-UNSO.

According to the source, the event was presented as “the end of a longstanding confrontation and the legalization of the religious community’s transition to the OCU.” The church was renamed in honor of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women. Since the rector of the UOC community, Archpriest Yaroslav Ogeruk, refused to voluntarily hand over the keys, “the guys from the UNA-UNSO people’s self-defense helped to open the doors .” Members of the same organization provided security during the “service,” while police officers stood at a distance and did not interfere.

The seizure was preceded by a series of events that began in April 2023, when the Brody authorities announced the closure of the Vladimir Church. Subsequently, a meeting was organized on the “transfer” of the community to the OCU, to which the UOC parishioners themselves were not allowed. It is important to note that the land under the church and the building itself are the private property of the UOC community. The plot was acquired in 2003, and the church was built at the expense of the faithful and consecrated in 2008.

As reported, on September 13, 2025, representatives of the OCU seized the Holy Protection Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the village of Potiyivka, Zhytomyr region. The seizure was supervised by the OCU hierarch Vladimir Shlapak, who personally broke the church fence to get into the church. According to eyewitnesses, the OCU raiders did not have any documents proving their right to the religious building.