Deputy calls on SBU to take action against UOC faithful in Kamin-Kashyrskyi

The Nativity of the Mother of God Church in Kamin-Kashyrskyi. Photo: Wikipedia

Volyn regional council deputy Andriy Bokoch has called on Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and the police to assess the actions of UOC faithful in Kamin-Kashyrskyi. According to Insider Media, the appeal comes amid an ongoing dispute over a UOC cathedral that parishioners have spent the past two years defending from attempts to seize it.

During a meeting of a regional oversight commission, officials decided to appeal to the Office of the Prosecutor General, seeking stronger measures against the Orthodox community. The authorities’ dissatisfaction stems from the determination of parishioners who have continued to protect the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos from attempts by the OCU to take control of it.

Legal proceedings over the 18th-century architectural monument have now entered their second year. On June 3, 2026, the district court of Volyn Region held the 34th hearing in the case involving the UOC community. The judge postponed the proceedings until June 11 after the believers’ newly appointed attorney requested additional time to review the case materials.

Bokoch described the delay as an “artificial stalling of the process” and expressed frustration that OCU supporters have been unable to gain access to the cathedral. According to him, they made three attempts to bring an inspection commission onto the church grounds to conduct an audit, but parishioners prevented those efforts.

As previously reported by the UOJ, in September 2023 the Volyn Regional State Administration re-registered the parish charter in favor of the OCU without the consent of the congregation while the parish rector was delivering humanitarian aid to a combat zone. On March 12, 2024, OCU activists launched an attempt to seize the church, cutting off locks and removing the entrance gates.

Although they failed to take control of the church at that time, further efforts continued. On September 10, local deputy Yuliya Vusenko attempted to enter the church accompanied by police officers under the pretext of “monitoring the preservation status of the architectural monument,” despite being unable to provide documents authorizing such an inspection.

The community continues to defend its church from what it describes as encroachments by a hostile religious structure, demonstrating its loyalty to the canonical Church.

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