A religious community in the Kyiv region voted unanimously to join the OCU

The large Orthodox parish in the village of Kolonshchyna, in the Kyiv region, has officially decided to withdraw from the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, whose priest refused to conduct memorial services for Ukrainian soldiers killed on the front lines. 

This was reported by the news outlet “Glavkom.”

The local religious community organized a general meeting, during which it unanimously supported the change in jurisdiction and the transfer of the largest rural church, St. John the Theologian, to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The initiative meeting of villagers took place in the local community center, where over 500 eligible community members registered. The main impetus for this religious expression of will was the current rector’s openly anti-Ukrainian stance. Local residents testified that the priest remained a supporter of Russian narratives and categorically refused to pay proper respect to or conduct memorial services for Ukrainian soldiers who had died on the front lines. This outraged the parishioners, who decided to completely eradicate the Moscow Patriarchate’s presence in their community.

The history of this religious building is quite dramatic. The foundation for the future construction of a large church was laid and consecrated back in 2007 with the participation of then-Patriarch Filaret. However, in 2009, after the completion of the main construction work, the local authorities at the time, contrary to the community’s original intentions, transferred the newly built structure to the ownership of the UOC-MP. On Monday, June 1, authorized representatives of the community plan to officially submit duly executed meeting minutes and signature sheets to the Kyiv Regional State Administration to carry out the legal re-registration of the parish’s charter.

On Maundy Thursday, April 9, the religious community of the village of Makiyivka, located in the Bila Tserkva district of the Kyiv region, made a historic decision to change its jurisdiction. 

In Brovary, the rector appropriated the church to prevent the community from transferring to the OCU.