The Transfiguration Church of the Canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in Cherkasy was illegally re-registered into the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), according to a statement by the Union of Orthodox Journalists (UOJ). The press service reported that on October 8, 2025, the church located in the Dakhnovka microdistrict was transferred without any decision from the religious community or formal meeting of parishioners.
The re-registration occurred during the illness of the church’s rector, Priest Anatoly Thistle, who is undergoing treatment. Parishioners allege that his absence was exploited to carry out the illegal action. The UOJ warned that this development signals a broader campaign by the OCU to seize churches systematically.
Earlier, on October 4, the OCU reportedly seized the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in Minkovtsy, Rivne region, by cutting off locks to access the building. Meanwhile, the UN expressed concerns over efforts to ideologically justify the dissolution of religious organizations in Ukraine, warning that such actions risk criminalizing freedom of thought, religion, and beliefs. Five UN experts highlighted the persecution of the canonical UOC in Ukraine.
