Created with Sketch.

The Russian Orthodox Church set out to calculate the number of parishes that left the Moscow Patriarchate to join the OCU

12.11.2021, 13:04

Over three years, just over 200 parishes have left the UOC-MP to join the OCU.

This was stated by the head of the Synodal Department for Church-Society and media relations Volodymyr Legoyda and added that for most of them the transition was involuntary, according to Interfax-Religion.

"About 143 parishes left (maybe not the last figure), and they did not leave but were captured by force or for the connivance of the authorities in violation of the legal laws of Ukrainians. I don't remember the exact figure now, but less than two hundred is accurate," a church representative said in an interview with RTVI.

At the same time, Legoyda reminded that the "canonical" Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate has 12.5 thousand parishes, and this is still the largest church in Ukraine, which, as he noted, has never stated anything about autocephaly.

The Primate of the OCU Epifaniy reported that in two years, about 700 parishes have joined the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

In just six months of its existence, 500 communities of the Moscow Patriarchate joined the OCU.

In 2019, users most often viewed the article of the Ukrainian Wikipedia "The transition of church communities to the OCU". It has gained more than a million views.

Read about
Interconfessional OCU is disappointed with the lack of response from the UOC-MP hierarchs to call to start a dialogue
12 November, 16:00
Interconfessional Statement of the UOC-MP hierarchs condemning decisions of the ROC Synod was issued 'behind Metropolitan Onufriy's back' - BBC Ukraine
12 November, 16:10
Interconfessional 29 bishops of the UOC-MP condemn the dismissal of their hierarchs in the temporarily occupied territories by the ROC Synod - Statement
12 November, 15:45
Interconfessional The Romanian Patriarchate is displeased with the transfer of a chapel in Chernivtsi to the OCU and asks the authorities to intervene
12 November, 15:00