Supporters of the Moscow Church prevented the transfer of the cathedral in Chernivtsi to the OCU
On September 10 in Chernivtsi, representatives of the State Enforcement Service were unable to inventory the property of the Holy Spirit Cathedral for its subsequent transfer to the OCU religious community. Enforcement officials arrived to ensure compliance with the Commercial Court’s July 14, 2026, ruling to remove obstacles to the use of the cathedral buildings, which the community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate has been illegally occupying for over eight months.
Over a hundred believers from the Moscow Patriarchate gathered outside the cathedral. Journalists were not allowed onto the premises and were prohibited from filming; however, the police, who were maintaining order, did not report any serious clashes. According to Volodymyr Dvorskyi, deputy head of the Department for the Enforcement of Court Decisions in the Chernivtsi region, representatives of the enforcement service, along with witnesses and the bailiff, were denied access to the cathedral premises, a fact documented in separate official reports.
Since the religious organization refused to voluntarily comply with the court’s verdict, the decision will now be enforced. Previously, court rulings in January and July 2026 ordered the UOC-MP parish to vacate and sign a handover document for the cathedral, hotel, boiler room, and two restrooms in favor of the OCU, as representatives of the UOC-MP had long blocked access to the property, which had already led to clashes among worshippers in the summer of 2025.
This was reported by ZAXID.NET.
As a reminder, cocaine was found in the car of Metropolitan Hilarion of the Russian Orthodox Church, who was detained in the Czech Republic.
The Russian Orthodox Church transferred Metropolitan Hilarion to Brazil following the scandal in the Czech Republic.
