UOC Community Warns of Imminent Church Seizure in Yakushyntsi

YAKUSHYNTI, UKRAINE — As reported by UOJ-Ukraine, members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) community in Yakushyntsi, Vinnytsia Oblast, say supporters of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) are preparing to seize their Church of St. Seraphim of Sarov, potentially with police involvement. The parishioners say they have continued holding services at the church while pursuing legal challenges to the community’s re-registration under the OCU.

According to the UOJ, about 50 OCU supporters and police representatives gathered near the church on Aug. 6. Afterward, parishioners noticed a man inspecting the church’s locks and doors. The following day, they encountered him at a local police station and identified him as an active police officer.

The dispute dates to March 2025, when UOC believers say a meeting was held without their participation and attendance records were falsified. They allege that 504 people were listed as participants, although only 57 OCU supporters were actually present. Authorities subsequently accepted the meeting documents and began the process of changing the community’s registration.

After several legal challenges and appeals, the community says authorities approved its re-registration under the OCU on July 16, 2026. A subsequent complaint seeking to suspend that decision was allegedly disregarded, and the legal entity was re-registered under the OCU the same day.

Previously, the UOJ reported that the UOC reported the disruption of an outdoor service in Ukraine.