Vyshhorod. OCU raiders staged several stormings of the UOC church
UOC Temple of the Holy Great Martyr Panteleimon
Address: Kyiv region, Vyshgorod, 1. Kurguzova Street.
A criminal group of OCU activists in Vyshgorod systematically attempts to take the UOC's St. Panteleimon Church away from its community.
This church is the last one in the city that the raiders fail to capture.
The parishioners and clergy of the church are actively involved in helping the city and volunteering. They have survived several attempts the storming of their church and continue to defend it.
On October 15, 2023, the church community held a parish meeting, at which they once again unanimously reaffirmed their determination to remain within the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Just a month before these events, clergymen of the OCU and the UGCC, with police support, seized the Borisoglebsky Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
In 2011, the parish of St. Boris and Gleb Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was given a plot of land on which a new church was being built. In May 2023, adherents of the OCU forcibly seized the Church of St. Boris and Gleb. After reviewing the documents, they decided they had the right to own the land on which St. Panteleimon's Church is.
Believers have once again stated their position in connection with the fact that a group of raiders is preparing to “transfer” the Panteleimon Parish to the OCU.
Before the meeting, the church's rector, Archpriest Dionysiy, explained that at the previous parish meeting, held on August 15, 304 members of the community professed their allegiance to the UOC and its Primate, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy. The believers documented their decision and membership in the church community.
"We want to convey this message to the authorities and to all those who insult us by saying we're 'not Ukrainians,'" said Father Dionysiy. "We are true Ukrainians. We pray for the Ukrainian people, for the soldiers, for the authorities at every service. We all have Ukrainian passports. And today, we want to hold another meeting on camera and show the whole world that we are faithful children of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church."
The parishioners say that for many of them, St. Panteleimon's Church is an important part of their lives. Its history began 15 years ago, when Orthodox Christians began gathering for prayer in a construction trailer.
Parishioners called on the President and the Verkhovna Rada to protect their holy site from hostile takeover.
On February 21, 2024, representatives of the OCU attempted to forcibly seize the church.
Rector Father Dionisiy Denysenko said that at 5:30 a.m. the security service called him and informed that the church's alarm had gone off.
When Father Dionysiy arrived on the territory, he saw law enforcement officers already there, and OCU representatives had cut the locks and entered the building. The OCU representatives claimed they had the right for the church.
OCU cleric Yuriy Bolshakov explained that he came at 5 a.m. to cut the locks on the UOC St. Panteleimon Church in Vyshgorod because he "couldn't sleep."
Bolshakov explained that he "wanted to pray," but the church was closed. So he "cut the lock and prayed."
According to Father Dionysiy, the police, seeing that the UOC parishioners actively prepared to defend the holy site, suggested they reach an agreement with the OCU supporters. Under this agreement, the UOC community would be able to pray in St. Panteleimon Church until a decision was made by the city authorities or a court ruling.
Having gained access to their church, the believers discovered that the OCU clergy had hacked the alarm system. Furthermore, the raiders had managed to penetrate the church's altar.
Early in the morning of February 24, 2024, in Vyshgorod, OCU clerics Yuriy Bolshakov and Vitaly Klos cut the locks again and seized the church.
They had prudently torn out the alarm system the previous time. Along with the criminals, the police arrived on the territory.
The parishioners of the church, having learned about what was happening, gathered for to defend their church.
In the video, the rector of the Panteleimon community approaches his church, which is blocked by police and the OCU clergy. The reactions of an OCU cleric Bolshakov were sluggish, reminiscent of someone intoxicated. When the rector asked him what right he had to cut the locks and what his relation to the church was, Bolshakov stated that he "has a cadastral number."
Vitaly Klos waved a document that he claimed was “proof of ownership,” but didn’t show it to anyone.
The police and SBU representatives who were near the temple supported the invaders.
The standoff lasted for several hours. OCU clergymen prevented the faithfuls from entering their church. They insulted the UOC military parishioners who had also come to defend the holy site.
The believers couldn't stand the raiders' audacity and literally pushed them away from their church. Then, once again, they clearly demonstrated their unwillingness to see OCU clergy in their church.
The raiders left the premises.
On June 9, 2024, it was revealed that the clergy of the OCU had illegally re-registered the land under the church.
The rector of the UOC St. Panteleimon Parish emphasized that the OCU promised to await the court's decision and not undertake any illegal actions while the investigation is ongoing.
He appealed to the instigator of the provocations, an OCU cleric, with a call for dialogue. "We await you with peace and love, but not at 5 a.m. with crowbars and grinders," said Father Dionysius.
On October 15, 2025, the church's parishioners found in the registers that the OCU clergy had created a legal entity that completely duplicated all the data of their parish.
The criminals were allowed to blatantly violate the law. They not only copied the church's name, but also registered at the same address.
Vitaly Bosenko, a cleric of the OCU, was appointed to be a head of the raider legal entity.
Parishioners and clergy of the UOC have appealed to government officials for an explanation.
"We will stand firm in prayer, in truth, in faithfulness to the Lord and our community.
For God's truth is always stronger than human cunning.
We also understand why duplicate documents were created and registered, and we are witnessing these actions unfolding throughout Ukraine. The answer is clear and one: to seize church property by force," stated the church's rector, Father Dionysiy Denisenko.
(Source: Project "DOZOR on Pershiy Kozatskiy ")
On October 16, 2025, on the name day of the church's rector, Father Dionysiy Denysenko, an OCU cleric Vitaly Bosenko, who is directly involved in document falsification, came to the church.
He stated that he wanted to congratulate the rector and "negotiate the fate of the church." This sparked outrage among the parishioners.
Believers reminded Bosenko that there are several OCU buildings in the city that are being neglected.
At the same time, Bosenko is preparing to destroy the living and active parish of the UOC.
On October 19, 2025, the parishioners of the church held a meeting of the religious community, at which they unanimously confirmed their desire to remain within the bosom of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The meeting took place after Sunday's service in response to a series of alarming events. The reason was the falsification of documents for the shrine by OCU raiders, followed by a visit to the church of the OCU cleric Bosenko. The believers fear that activists from Epiphaniy's organization are preparing a violent seizure of their church.
"WE REMAIN IN THE UOC!" was the parishioners' clear response to the actions of the OCU representatives. The parishioners and clergy gathered to visually and documentarily confirm they remain in the bossom of the UOC and their support for the rector, Archpriest Dionisiy Denisenko.
In addition, 220 people signed the protocol, confirming their desire to reject the proposal to appoint Bosenko as rector of the Orthodox parish.
On November 21, 2025, parishioners handed over to the police a package of documents about an illegal attempt by representatives of the OCU to take the church away from them.
Orthodox Christians reported the illegal registration of a parallel legal entity of the OCU at the address of their parish, and also reported a visit from a cleric of this entity, Bosenko, demanding to hand over the keys to their holy site.
The believers presented the minutes of the meeting, at which the religious community unanimously affirmed its support for their rector, Archpriest Dionysiy Denisenko, remains within the bosom of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and does not intend to convert to the OCU.
The police are obliged to review these documents.
“We hope that our arguments will be heard and taken into account,” wrote the parish rector, Father Dionysiy, on his Facebook page.
КУ ст. 35 (свобода вероисповедания) · ЕСПЧ ст. 9 · Нормы ООН