Absurdity and iniquity: Berehomet believers respond to the call to join OCU

The parishioners of the Intercession temple in Berehomet, Chernivtsi region, responded to the local authorities' call to move to the OCU within 10 days, stating the incompetence of officials. The collective letter of believers was posted by the press service of the Chernivtsi-Bukovyna diocese on its Facebook page.

To prove the absurdity of the call of the authorities, believers of the UOC give a simple example.

“The 15th session of the Berehomet village council voted that the husband and wife who live in the village of Berehomet should divorce and marry other people within 10 days. From this example, it is clear that the village council does not have the authority to decide who needs to get a divorce and whom to marry,” the message says.

The letter notes that since the Church is separated from the State, local governments do not have the right to interfere in the affairs of religious communities.

“We want to remain faithful to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,” say the parishioners of the Intercession church.

Recall that on May 23, 2022, the Berehomet authorities gave church communities 10 days to move to the OCU.

Read also

GOARCH Sets 2026 Clergy-Laity Congress for Cleveland

GOARCH will convene its 2026 Clergy-Laity Congress in Cleveland, highlighting parish renewal under the theme “Rise and Build,” alongside major Philoptochos and young-adult gatherings.

Monastic Vocations Gathering Draws Young Men to St. Peter's Monastery

Visit from Hilandar abbot highlights growing interest in Orthodox monastic life in America.

HCHC Wins $7.5 Million Lilly Endowment Grant to Revamp Priestly Formation

Grant will fund redesigned Master of Divinity program with extensive parish-based training.

Islamists Desecrate Orthodox and Presbyterian Churches in Sudan

Two Port Sudan churches were defaced with Islamic graffiti, highlighting rising anti-Christian hostility amid the Sudanese civil war.

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Falls Asleep in the Lord

The Tokyo-born performer will be remembered for decades of film and TV work. In 2015, he was baptized into the Orthodox faith, taking the name Panteleimon.

Midwest Churches to Host Lectures Marking 100 Years Since St. Tikhon’s Repose

Holy Trinity Seminary professor Protodeacon Andrei Psarev will tour the Midwest to deliver a lecture series honoring St. Tikhon of Moscow as "The First Patriarch of the New World."