The church at the Odessa Military Hospital has joined the OCU
The Alexander Nevsky Church on the grounds of the military hospital in Odesa has been transferred to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate have claimed that the church was allegedly seized illegally. The parties offer differing accounts of the events that took place on June 23.
In Odesa, the Alexander Nevsky Church, located on the grounds of a military hospital, has been transferred to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. This was reported with reference to statements by representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, who disagree with this decision and refer to the events as a “seizure.”
According to the parties, on June 23, representatives of the OCU arrived at the church and announced a change in its ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Following this, the building effectively came under new authority. “In videos released by those involved in the ‘transfer’ of the church, a representative of the OCU expresses dissatisfaction with its consecration in honor of St. Alexander Nevsky and the depictions of saints in the frescoes,” the Moscow Patriarchate asserts.
The statement also notes that representatives of the new jurisdiction allegedly raised objections regarding the church’s consecration and its interior design, after which the church could be renamed in honor of another saint. “Consequently, the ‘new owners’ announced that the church would now be named after a different saint,” the UOC-MP’s statement notes.
Currently, the parties are presenting the incident differently: the OCU speaks of a lawful transfer, while the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate insists on the version of a forcible or unlawful seizure. The circumstances surrounding the change in the church’s jurisdiction have not been officially elaborated upon. This was reported by the UOC-MP.
As a reminder, the SBU detained a Russian strike coordinator targeting Chernivtsi.
The SBU also exposed a Russian intelligence network that was planning terrorist attacks using teenagers as operatives.
