Local Oligarch Accused of Orchestrating Seizure of UOC Church in Kuzmyn

The Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos of the UOC in the village of Kuzmyn. Photo: Radio Liberty

KUZMYN — In the village of Kuzmyn, Khmelnytskyi region, preparations are reportedly underway for what parishioners describe as a raider-style seizure of the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). According to the Dozor channel, local sources characterize the unfolding situation as a case of “modern-day feudalism,” centered on the actions of a single influential businessman.

According to these accounts, the initiative is being driven by Anatolii Mykhailiuk, head of the agricultural cooperative “Kuzmynskyi” and one of the district’s largest entrepreneurs. Mykhailiuk is described as the primary — and in some cases the only — employer in Kuzmyn and nearby villages, a position that critics say has allowed him to exert outsized influence over local authorities, businesses, and even the village school.

Sources allege that Mykhailiuk repeatedly sought to bring the parish under his control, pressuring the church’s long-serving rector, Fr. Heorhii Sikalyuk. When the priest refused to subordinate the parish to business interests, Mykhailiuk is said to have shifted strategy, organizing efforts to transfer the church to the state-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU).

As part of this process, Bohdan Biliavets, a former foreman at the “Kuzmynskyi” agricultural firm, was reportedly rapidly ordained as a deacon within the OCU and presented as a prospective new parish leader. At the same time, parishioners report a campaign of agitation against Orthodox Christians and harassment of Fr. Heorhii, who has served the church for more than three decades.

The dispute culminated on December 21, 2025, when a gathering was held that critics describe as a staged assembly. According to witnesses, employees from neighboring villages were transported in by bus to participate in the vote, while a significant police and Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) presence was deployed. Fr. Heorhii reportedly stated that he did not recognize many of those present as members of the parish.

Mykhailiuk subsequently declared the gathering an official “assembly of the religious community” and announced the transfer of the church away from the UOC. In recent days, sources report that the parish has been re-registered under new jurisdiction, a move described by critics as illegal and contested by the local Orthodox community.

The UOJ has reported on the reregistration of the parish, which was accomplished using falsified paperwork. Recently, Fr. Heorhii and the parish sent a video appeal to Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, of which she confirmed receipt and vowed action against forced church seizures in Ukraine, saying she was compiling a list of individuals involved.

An in-depth look at statements made by Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S., Olga Stefanishyna, in response to Rep. Luna, as well as the typical process the Ukrainian authorities follow leading up to a church seizure, was also recently published on UOJ-USA's YouTube channel.

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