Lviv Regional Council to involve SBU in liquidation of UOC "centers" in the region

The Lviv Regional Council continues to purge the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the region. The regional authorities are concerned that despite the legal liquidation of UOC religious communities and the seizure of churches of the canonical Church, believers still gather for prayer in private homes in Lviv and other cities of the region. The Lviv Regional State Administration stated that the Security Service of Ukraine will be involved in the complete elimination of the UOC “cells”. This was reported by UAnews Lviv.

According to the publication, on November 29, 2024, the head of the Lviv Regional State Administration Maxim Kozitsky called the day when the region was the first in Ukraine to complete the “cleansing” of the UOC structures “historic”. According to official data announced on February 3 by the director of the Department of Culture of the Lviv Regional State Administration, Iryna Havryliuk, 39 of the 66 previously existing communities “moved” to the OCU, and 27 were liquidated by local governments.

Now, according to the police, the efforts of UOC believers are focused on creating a “parallel network” outside of official churches. According to Oleksandr Savchuk, head of the Preventive Activities Department of the Main Department of the National Police, law enforcement officers are investigating two criminal proceedings over such activity.

In Skhidnytsia, according to the SBU, they are checking the activities of a chapel and an outbuilding on a private plot where regular services are held. Another case concerns the village of Vydniv, where, after the community’s “transfer” to the OCU (actual re-registration and seizure of the UOC church – ed.), investigative actions are underway due to alleged damage to the church and bell tower, which has the status of an architectural monument of national importance.

MP Iryna Sekh said that in Brody, a representative of the “liquidated” UOC community continues to gather people in a private area “behind the fence” from the church and allegedly openly threaten the local minister of the OCU. A similar situation, according to the deputies, is observed in the town of Sheptytsky, where a “cell” of the UOC continues to operate at 27a Zaliznychna Street.

In addition, MP Mykola Bilyak recalled the journalistic stories where UOC believers together with priests hold services in “safe houses”, especially in Lviv.

The main obstacle for law enforcement is the legal aspect. According to Oleksandr Savchuk, there are no public services of the UOC in the region, and it is virtually impossible to close meetings in private homes, as Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine guarantees freedom of religion. “We cannot order people how they should profess their faith,” he said, adding that the police in such cases are limited to explanatory work.

As a result of the discussion, the regional council initiated the involvement of the SBU in the next meetings to develop a program for the complete neutralization of the UOC “cells” that, after legal liquidation, are trying to regain their positions through “home” chapels and private initiatives.

Earlier, we reported that in Lviv, journalists of the local NTA TV channel released a report in which they revealed the addresses of private apartments used for worship by believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. For a year, the film crew had been spying on clergy and parishioners, accusing them of anti-Ukrainian activities and calling them “FSB agents” and “potential killers.”