Volyn RSA complains about slowdown in "transfers" of UOC communities to OCU

In 2025, the state managed to re-register only four religious communities in Volyn from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to the OCU. This figure is significantly lower than in previous years, which indicates a slowdown in the process of changing confessional affiliation in the region.

According to Suspilne, citing a comment by Vasyl Haiduk, head of the Department for Religions and Nationalities of the Volyn Regional State Administration, from February 24, 2022, to January 1, 2026, 82 religious communities in Volyn «changed their confessional affiliation» from the UOC to the OCU.

Vasyl Haiduk noted that the «lion’s share» of re-registrations occurred in 2022 and 2023. Now this process has «somewhat calmed down,» and in 2025 only four such cases were recorded. According to him, a significant surge in transitions is not expected, although the situation may change «in people’s minds.»

«In total, we have about 500 religious organizations of the UOC-MP in Volyn. But this includes those registered by the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience and those that are not actually operating today,» the official said.

Earlier, the odious head of the Volyn Diocese of the OCU, Mikhail Zinkevich , said that Volyn is under the «occupation of the Russian world.» He also expressed optimism about a «new wave» of communities joining the OCU, which he attributed to the law banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).