Ukrainian Authorities Designate Zaporizhzhia Eparchy Affiliated With ROC

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 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.

The designation follows an inspection that began in August 2026. At the time, Metr. Luke (Kovalenko) of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol urged clergy and faithful 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 their alleged institutional ties to the ROC.

Previously, the UOJ reported that the DESS head explained when the UOC banning law would take effect.