Ex-cleric of OCU says churches seized from UOC are deserted

A former cleric of the OCU, Yaroslav Yasenets, published a statement in which he pointed to systemic problems within the structure, in particular, the fact that the churches seized from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) are empty. According to him, the UOC communities remain loyal to their priests and continue to worship elsewhere, while the churches transferred to the OCU are not filled with parishioners.

In his address, Yasenets notes that after the transfer of churches to the control of the OCU, UOC believers do not disappear, but organize their prayer life in the new conditions. «Often, the UOC community remains with their priest, the church is taken away from them, and they perform the liturgy and prayer somewhere else. And the temple transferred to the OCU is empty,» he emphasizes, offering to verify this with the help of open sources on the Internet.

As an example, he cites St. Michael’s Cathedral in Cherkasy, which was seized in October 2024. Yasenets claims that the activists who took part in the seizure did not become regular parishioners, which is why the huge cathedral is now practically empty. «Everyone can open the Internet and see photos of the services,» he added.

The ex-cleric also draws attention to the fact that the number of UOC parishioners is not decreasing, and they are ready to defend their shrines. He recalled the events in Chernivtsi in June 2025, when, according to him, several thousand believers, led by Metropolitan Meletiy, came out to defend their cathedral from an attempted seizure. «It is worth asking ourselves: what are we doing wrong compared to the hated Muscovites that people go to them and are often ready to even pray in adapted premises, to defend their churches with their breasts, while our churches and altars are empty?» — yasenets asked.

He called to stop blaming «mythical external enemies» for everything and look for reasons within the OCU itself. «Is it possible that all the parishioners and ministers of the UOC work for Moscow? Perhaps it’s time to start asking ourselves critical questions,» Yasenets concluded.

Earlier, we reported that the Smila City District Court granted the application for the transfer of «ownerless real estate» — the Holy Protection Church in the village of Teklino, Cherkasy region, to the communal property of the Balakliyivka village council. It is noteworthy that this church had long been owned by the UOC religious community , but after re-registration to the OCU, it became «ownerless property.»