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# Ukrainian Authorities Designate Zaporizhzhia Eparchy Affiliated With ROC
- URL: https://uoj.news/news/ukrainian-authorities-designate-zaporizhzhia-eparchy-affiliated-with-roc/
- Published: 2026-10-15T20:52:17.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-15T21:56:16.000Z
- Description: DESS designated the Zaporizhzhia Eparchy affiliated with Moscow after it failed to comply with an earlier directive, while Metr. Luke urged the faithful to respond through prayer.
- Author: Tobias Straney
- Tags: #Category: News, State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, Victor Yelensky, OCU, UOC, Russian Orthodox Church, Zaporizhzhia Eparchy

**ZAPORIZHZHIA, UKRAINE —** Ukraine’s State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) has declared the Zaporizhzhia Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), making it the [fourth UOC religious organization](https://dess.gov.ua/vyznano-afiliyovanoiu-zaporizka-ieparkhiia-upts-ne-vykonala-prypys-dess/) to receive such a designation from Ukrainian authorities.

The order, signed by DESS head Viktor Yelensky, was published on the agency’s official website. The decision followed the eparchy’s failure to comply with an earlier directive requiring it to take steps that included adopting an Eparchial Assembly resolution severing ties with the UOC’s Kyiv Metropolia.

[![](https://uoj.news/content/images/2026/09/dess-seeks-to-liquidate-uoc-rovenky-eparchy-in-court.jpg)On this topicDESS Seeks to Liquidate UOC Rovenky Eparchy in Court](https://uoj.news/news/dess-seeks-to-liquidate-uoc-rovenky-eparchy-in-court/)

The designation follows an inspection that began in August 2026\. At the time, Metr. Luke (Kovalenko) of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol [urged clergy and faithful](https://t.me/eparh%5Fzp/14814) not to give in to fear or anger in response to the investigation into alleged ties with a foreign religious organization whose activities are prohibited in Ukraine.

“One can take away a name with the stroke of a pen, forcibly seize buildings and property, but no one, ever, can tear Christ from the human heart!” Metr. Luke said in his August appeal.

The hierarch called on the faithful to pray for Church members and those making decisions about the eparchy. He also blessed a daily prayer of agreement, asking God to guide DESS officials toward truth and piety and to deliver the Church from affliction. He encouraged the faithful to observe the Dormition Fast with prayer and repentance.

The new designation marks a further step in the Ukrainian authorities’ scrutiny of UOC structures over alleged institutional ties to the ROC. 

Previously, the [UOJ reported](https://uoj.news/news/84032-dess-head-explains-when-uoc-banning-law-will-take-effect/) that the DESS head explained when the UOC banning law would take effect.