Ukraine
The schismatics of religiosity in Ukraine, following the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, took 250 churches away from the local Orthodox Church.
In the entire history of the confrontation between the UOC and the new Ukrainian Orthodox Church, recognized by the Moscow clergy as schismatic, 250 churches were taken from the former. One of the most striking illustrations is the suppression of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.
During Petro Poroshenko’s presidency, the OCU was established in Ukraine so that it would be independent from the Moscow Patriarchate. Then the official authorities tried to instill new priests in the parishes of the UOC. However, the initiative ran into opposition from parishioners and the current clergy.
Then radicals, nationalists and law enforcement officials entered the fight against the Orthodox. As a result, 500 parishes and at least 250 churches have been removed from UOC control, MK points out.
It is noteworthy that until 2023, the police and other security forces tried not to “shine” in the seizure of parishes. However, now they are directly involved in this. This was so in the Chernivtsi-Bukovina diocese in Ivano-Frankivsk.
