Head of Cherkasy Diocese of OCU complains that religious communities of UOC in the region are "slowly" turning to schism

The head of the Cherkasy Diocese of the OCU, Ivan Yaremenko, has reported a “weak trend” in the process of transferring communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to the OCU in Cherkasy region. Despite the adoption in August 2024 of a law establishing the grounds for banning the UOC and the deadline for re-registration by December 2024, hundreds of parishes of the canonical Church still remain in the region. Yaremenko emphasizes the importance of peaceful resolution of issues of changing church affiliation, but lawyers point out that there is no immediate responsibility for non-compliance with the law.

According to Suspilne.Cherkasy, Yaremenko said that in 2025, the local branch of the OCU managed to seize 20 parishes that were previously subordinate to the UOC. Last year (2024), there were 26 such seizures. “The trend continues, but it is still weak, because there are still many parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate,” the Metropolitan noted.

According to the hierarch, there are still almost 300 UOC communities in Cherkasy region, two of which are located in the regional center. Yaremenko claims that he allegedly calls on communities to resolve the issue of changing church affiliation without the use of violent methods, guided solely by current legislation. “If the community cannot leave for some reason, there is a part of the community that resists, if they take this church by force, then this tension remains within the community, the village,” he explained.

As reported, on December 22, 2025, in the city of Chyhyryn, Cherkasy region, a forceful seizure of the Church of the Kazan Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) took place. According to sources, a group of raiders, some of whom introduced themselves as employees of the territorial acquisition center (TAC), illegally entered the territory of the shrine, changing the locks and installing the state flag.