Holy Spirit Cathedral of the UOC
Address – 85 Holovna Street, Chernivtsi.
On June 17, in the city of Chernivtsi, near the border with Romania, an especially brutal and sophisticated attempt was made to seize a church by militants of the OCU with the participation of the police. Clergy of the cathedral were beaten by the attackers, and the police used force against parishioners.
· On February 16, 2025, in Chernivtsi, a crowd of unknown individuals led by several OCU clerics held a gathering under the fence of the Holy Spirit Cathedral of the UOC to “transfer” three Ukrainian Orthodox Church churches at once – the Holy Spirit Cathedral, St. Nicholas Cathedral, and the Saints Peter and Paul Church.
The illegal gathering was broadcast by the Romanian television channel Centrul Media BucPress Cernăuți.
During this event, several thousand believers of the actual UOC community of the Holy Spirit Cathedral were praying inside the church. Accordingly, none of them took part in the action.
A group of unknown individuals, led by OCU clerics, effectively falsified documents related to the church.
At the same time, inside the cathedral, after the prayer service, a meeting of the religious community was held, at which 5,269 parishioners unanimously confirmed their decision to remain within the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
· On February 26, 2025, it became known that a state registrar based in Lviv had made changes to the statutory documents of the cathedral.
The owner of the church was designated as OCU Bishop Feognost Bodoriak.
(Source – Project “DOZOR - Pershyi Kozatskyi”)
· On June 17, 2025, an attempt was made to storm and forcibly seize the Holy Spirit Cathedral of the UOC in Chernivtsi.
A group of unknown individuals entered the church grounds disguised as parishioners. One of the future participants in the assault was brought in a wheelchair, which was used to conceal special equipment intended for the attack.
The criminal group conducted reconnaissance on the premises and then began acting. Unknown assailants attacked the clergy and parishioners of the cathedral. Two priests were hospitalized with severe injuries.
The police present on the territory effectively did nothing. The attackers were not detained.
At the same time, a minibus carrying reinforcements of militants entered the area. OCU clerics Ivan Chokaliuk and Vasyl Kapriian arrived in it.
After them, police representatives arrived at the scene under the leadership of the Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Chernivtsi Region, Sviatoslav Kyshlar.
The territory was blocked off.
Parishioners and clergy of the UOC began to gather en masse near the cathedral fence. Believers attempted to enter the territory of their church but were met with resistance from the police.
Law enforcement officers were evidently coordinating their actions with the militants.
At around 6:00 p.m., believers managed to enter the territory of their cathedral. The police used tear gas and special equipment against the parishioners.
The militants themselves barricaded themselves inside the church building.
Law enforcement officers made several attempts to push the parishioners away from the church, but the believers did not give up.
Eventually, agreements were reached under which the police formed a corridor and removed the militants from the cathedral grounds.
December 23, 2025. Checheliivka. The church was seized by a group of OCU raiders backed by police
A church in the Cherkasy region was seized by a group of OCU militants in uniform. Nationalist groups are likely involved.
Hospital Administration Seized a UOC Church
