Pryutivka. OCU Raiders Stormed a UOC Church

Church of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious, UOC

Address: Kirovohrad Oblast, urban-type settlement Pryutivka, 25 Oleksandriiska St.

The St. George's Church of the UOC in Pryutivka became the target of OCU raiders in 2023. Activists and clergy of that structure organized a territorial community assembly at which they launched a process of document falsification regarding the church.

Having conducted an illegal re-registration of the religious community, OCU raiders made several attempts to storm the church.

The faithful and clergy continue to pray in their church, fight the criminals in court, and defend their church.

On May 28, 2023, OCU representatives organized an illegal territorial community assembly at the local House of Culture, with invited journalists who were supposed to film the proceedings.

They claimed that "all residents want to transfer the church to the OCU." At the same time, approximately 150 representatives of the UOC religious community — to which the church belongs and which is opposed to the transfer — gathered for a prayer vigil outside the House of Culture.

The faithful were seeing for the first time the female activists and OCU Deacon Oleh Don, who had arrived to decide the fate of their church. UOC priests and a lawyer attempted to reason with the unknown individuals who had organized the assembly. They explained that such a vote has no legal force, and that the assembly must be conducted by the religious community together with the rector of the Church of St. George the Victorious.

OCU activists called the police, claiming that the faithful were blocking access to the voting venue, and complained that "the faithful are singing." Verbal altercations broke out; police arrived but took no action and simply observed. OCU representatives locked themselves in a bus where they were collecting signatures. The bus was guarded by police, and UOC faithful were not permitted inside. Meanwhile, police and activists pushed a UOC priest out of the bus and tore the cross from him.

After some time, Oleh Don announced that the signature collection was complete and that the Church of St. George the Victorious in Pryutivka had been transferred to the Kropyvnytsia Diocese of the OCU. He also announced that a new charter of the religious community had been approved.

UOC representatives filed a police report about church raiding.

(Source: UOJ)

On October 15, 2023, approximately 30 OCU supporters attempted to seize the church.

The instigator of the seizure was OCU Deacon Oleh Don, who personally cut the locks on the church in front of television cameras, then let OCU activists onto the church grounds.

OCU activists also cut through a grate and broke a window to gain entry into the church and unlock it from the inside.

"When we and other UOC faithful arrived at the church, the gates were closed and all the activists were inside, conducting their 'moleben.' There were about 80 of us. We ultimately managed to enter the church," the Oleksandria Diocese of the UOC added.

A source reported that an OCU "priest" was seen inside the church — one who had been brought from Kherson by Deacon Oleh Don. Realizing that the seizure would not succeed, the cleric left the church grounds and departed.

"We had debates with both OCU supporters and with the police. In the end, we agreed with the law enforcement officers that one of our priests and a reader would remain in the church overnight. Police officers proposed closing and sealing the church, but we did not accept those terms," a diocesan representative added.

(Source: UOJ)

On August 31, 2024, a group of unidentified individuals in camouflage cut the locks and stormed the church grounds.

As Metropolitan Boholep of Oleksandria and Svitlovodsk reported from the scene, tear gas and fire extinguishers were used against Orthodox Christians.

The perpetrators, who cut the locks and desecrated the church, identified themselves as a "security firm" and wore "Right Sector" chevrons.

OCU clergy arrived together with them and, according to information from the scene, helped coordinate the seizure of the shrine.

The raiders locked themselves on the grounds of the shrine and refused to admit the parishioners and clergy of the church.

A fire extinguisher was used against a priest, after which a woman in camouflage began filming him on her mobile phone.

Despite the fact that the church belongs to the UOC parish and that court proceedings regarding the falsification of the shrine's documents by OCU activists are ongoing, police acted in the interests of the perpetrators.

While the faithful were praying beside the fence, the raiders were desecrating the church.

"Our people could see through the windows that they were running around the church… walking around with some drinks and behaving disrespectfully toward the house of God. We do not know what will happen to our property, to the antimension, and we ask for your prayers so that our shrine will not be desecrated and that this cynical and un-spiritual behavior will finally be stopped," said Metropolitan Boholep, who also asked for prayers for the St. George's community.

(Source: UOJ)

On August 14, 2025, another round of court proceedings between OCU representatives and the Oleksandria Diocese of the UOC concerning St. George's Church in the urban-type settlement of Pryutivka, Kirovohrad Oblast, came to a conclusion.

The court did not recognize the OCU activists' rights to the church and the parish's property.

For nearly two years, OCU raiders have been attempting to seize the church from Orthodox Christians. The perpetrators succeeded in falsifying documents and "transferring" the parish to the OCU. On several occasions they attempted to storm and seize the shrine.

The faithful managed to defend the church, after which a series of court proceedings began.

The raiders terrorized the church's parishioners and demanded that the faithful be barred from the church.

In August 2025, the court partially granted the demands of OCU representatives: it recognized as "valid" the documents concerning the right to use the land, which local officials had re-registered in the name of the perpetrators.

However, the court did not recognize the rights of Epifaniy's activists to the church building itself and the parish's property. The judge noted that they were unable to provide evidence of their ownership of the shrine.

The Oleksandria Diocese of the UOC will appeal this ruling and seek to have the OCU's claimed right to use the land declared unlawful.

(Source: UOJ)