Parish in Transcarpathia votes to remain faithful after priest’s fall into schism

Paseka, Transcarpathia, Ukraine, March 3, 2026

Photo: interfax.ru Photo: interfax.ru     

The parishioners of the Church of St. Michael in the village of Paseka, Transcarpathia, has voted to remain faithful to holy Orthodoxy despite the priest’s fall into the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine.”

A parish assembly was held on Sunday, prompted by the departure of former rector Fr. Vitaly Lychak. And on the feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, the people voted to remain canonically Orthodox, under the Mukachevo Orthodox Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), reports the Information-Education Department of the UOC.

The UOC thus assigned a new rector to the Paseka parish who has already begun his duties.

Questions surrounding the legal ownership of the church building and the formal registration of the assembly’s decisions are expected to require additional time and attention.

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3/3/2026

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