Komarov. Under Police Cover, OCU Raiders Seized a Church

Church of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the UOC

Address: Chernivtsi region, Komariv village, Golovna street, 9

The UOC Dormition Cathedral in Komariv has become the latest victim of the notorious OCU raider Roman Hryshchuk.

A criminal orchestrated a provocation in a church during the funeral of an OCU serviceman. Hryshchuk's goal was to incite hatred against the church clergy and parishioners, facilitating a future takeover of the church.

Later, a group of raiders falsified documents, arrived on the church territory and seized the premises.

On January 13, 2026, OCU cleric Roman Hryshchuk, known for organizing numerous fake meetings on the transition and the seizure of UOC churches, staged a provocation at the funeral of Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceman Vitaliy Melnyk.

Hryshchuk published a provocative video with the aim to incite interreligious hatred and to create the necessary conditions for the subsequent church seizure.

(Source: UOJ)

On January 23, 2026, Hryshchuk announced the transfer of the Assumption Cathedral in Komariv to the OCU.

In a video posted on his Facebook page, Hryshchuk claimed that UOC priests are "vatniks" who donate money to the Russian army, and that this is precisely why religious communities are seeking to convert to the OCU.

(Source: UOJ)

On January 25, 2026, the priest and parishioners of the UOC Dormition Church appealed to the public for help in connection with the media campaign unfolded against them following the funeral service for a Ukrainian serviceman.

As it was reported by Father Kliment in a video message, the relatives of the fallen soldier requested a memorial service at a UOC church, and the congregation agreed. However, after this, a media attack was launched against the parish.

"These people are using this to incite interreligious hatred and to denigrate our Ukrainian Orthodox Church. They're saying that Ukrainian soldiers aren't heroes to us," the priest stated.

He emphasized that the community had always prayed for Ukraine's defenders, and many parishioners had relatives at the front. The rector himself mentioned two of his parishioners: one went missing near Myrnohrad city, the other one was seriously wounded.

"Our heroes are Ukrainian soldiers! We are not for the aggressor, we are Ukrainians, we are for Ukraine, we are for its future," Father Clement emphasized.

According to him, certain forces are using manipulation to sow discord in the village and seize the church, which the parishioners themselves built.

(Source: UOJ)

On January 25, 2026, Roman Hryshchuk posted on his Facebook page, in which he reported on the alleged “transition” of the religious community.

According to the information he published, 206 people attended the meeting. 164 participants voted in favor of changing the canonical subordination, while 42 voted against.

In his message, Hryshchuk thanked the meeting participants and the Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen "for the opportunity to build Ukraine." He specifically mentioned the deceased serviceman Vitaliy Melnyk, wishing him the Kingdom of Heaven. The author of the publication directly linked the soldier's death to subsequent events in the village, stating, "He managed to help the residents of his village even after death!"

In closing his address, Roman Hryshchuk also mentioned the clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Specifically, he wrote: "We send greetings from Komariv village to the Russian citizens stripped of their Ukrainian citizenship—Metropolitan Onufriy, who served in Bancheny today, and to Meletiy Yegorenko. We greeted you as best we could!"

(Source: UOJ)

On March 11, 2026, the UOC Dormition Cathedral was taken under control of the OCU representatives in the presence of a special force unit and 10 police crews.

All this happened despite previous guarantees from the local mayor about a peaceful resolution to the situation.

According to Father Clement, the parishioners hoped to continue services in the small, old church located nearby. Therefore, they agreed to hand over the keys to avoid clashes. However, when the parishioners arrived at the church in the morning, they found a large police presence and a busload of special forces. When the parishioners asked why such measures were necessary, the churchwarden stated that he "didn't know".

Later, accompanied by a group of OCU chaplains, Roman Hryshchuk also arrived, advising that such “peaceful transitions” be perceived as “the will of God.”

The agreement that the UOC community would be left with the old church turned out to be a lie: “They had hope until the very end that the OCU supporters would allow them to serve there.

But they were made to understand that they would not be able to serve there either." Now, the believers are forced to travel to a neighboring village for services while simultaneously searching for a house in Komariv itself to set up a prayer space, a search complicated by the sharp rise in real estate prices in the region due to the influx of displaced people.

(Source: UOJ)