Ukraine, October 8, 2025
The seizure of the Nativity of the Theotokos Church in Minkovtsy, Rivne Province. Photo: pravlife.info
The Ukrainian state and schismatic-nationalists continue their campaign of persecution against the Orthodox Church. Hundreds of churches have been violently overtaken over the past few years, often with clergy and the faithful being left broken and bloody.
Since the end of September, there have been at least four more church seizures.
On September 28, in the village of Nagoryany, Chernovtsy Province, a group of men broke into the Nativity of the Theotokos Church belonging to the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church using angle grinders, crowbars, and other tools. The attack was overseen by serial church raider Roman Grishchuk. When a UOC representative challenged the raiders to recite the 50th or 90th Psalm to prove they were actual parishioners, none could do so. He noted that none of those present regularly attended services at the church.
The following day, supporters of the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” seized the Holy Transfiguration Church in the village of Kerstentsy in the Chernivtsi Diocese. The seizure was again led by Roman Grishchuk, accompanied by military chaplains and police officers, who also blocked the entrance to the village. This was not the first attempt—an earlier seizure effort had occurred in early August.
Previous OCU meetings about changing jurisdictions had been repeatedly postponed due to low turnout, with the first gathering on February 28 attracting only about 30 people. According to local residents, organizers resorted to blackmail, threats of mobilization through territorial recruitment centers, and bribery to increase attendance at subsequent meetings, with the final March 23 gathering drawing only about 40 people. In stark contrast, on February 28 the parish had held its own vote in which 250 parishioners voted to remain in the Orthodox Church under His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry, with zero voting against.
On October 4, raiders penetrated the Nativity of the Theotokos Church in the village of Minkovtsy, Rivne Province, using a lock pick. More than 30 OCU supporters arrived early in the morning, accompanied by police. When Archpriest Viktor Savchuk refused police demands to hand over the keys—noting that the local religious community had received no notification of re-registration and the church belonged to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church—the OCU supporters first attempted to cut through the door with an angle grinder before successfully entering with a lock pick. The conflict around this church had begun in August when activists initiated a transfer to the OCU, while UOC faithful stated they had called no meetings and remained faithful to the canonical Church.
The seized St. Vladimir Church in Brody, Lvov Province. Photo: pravlife.info
Also on October 4, in the city of Brody, Lvov Province, OCU “priests” held their first “service” in the St. Vladimir Church, which local authorities had closed in 2023. According to local reports, when the church’s rector Fr. Yaroslav Ogeruk refused to hand over the keys, fighters from the nationalist organization UNA-UNSO broke down the doors. Members of UNA-UNSO also provided “security” around the church during the service, while police stood at a distance on the sidewalk.
The church has been renamed in honor of the Holy Myrrh-bearing Women. The land on which St. Vladimir Church stands is private property of the UOC community, purchased by parishioners in July 2003, with construction completed at their expense in 2008. In April 2023, Brody authorities announced the closure of St. Vladimir Church, the only Orthodox church in the city, and later organized a fake meeting about “transferring” to the OCU, to which UOC parishioners were not admitted.
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