In April, more than 80 communities aligned with the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) came under the control of the schismatic Ukrainian Orthodox Church (OCU). This development was reported by Viktor Yelensky, who leads the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience in the Government of Ukraine, according to Ukrinform.
Yelensky noted that over 80 congregations transitioned from the Moscow Patriarchate to the OCU in the previous month. He underscored that there are numerous accounts of gatherings where believers chose to switch their church affiliation and reset their mandates accordingly.
On the international front, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Mikhail Galuzin weighed in with the view that Ukraine’s government is promoting sharper social division through its treatment of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). The Russian diplomat argued that President Volodymyr Zelensky and his close associates do not appear to prioritize the rights to religious freedom for millions of Ukrainians who feel their faith is being restricted.
Galuzin also criticized a recent decision by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to adopt the New Julian calendar at the Bishops’ Council meeting on May 24, describing the move as a peak of what he called madness, cynicism, and ceremonial excess. [attribution: Galuzin’s remarks reported by Russian media and official sources]