When building a church is banned – is that “freedom of faith”?
The authorities stopped the construction of the UOC church in Nichohivka. Photo: Suspilne
The village of Nichohivka in Volyn is yet another example of the unprecedented “freedom of faith” that Ukrainian officials – and UCCRO members – so love to talk about in the West.
In 2019, OCU supporters seized the St. Nicholas community’s church, beating parishioners in the process. After that, the faithful began holding services in an old, unheated house. But in 2025, under highly suspicious circumstances, a fire broke out there. Everything burned down. The community then began building a small new church on a private plot. One would think this was their lawful right, guaranteed by the Constitution of Ukraine.
But the local OCU “priest,” Lushchynskyi, appealed to the authorities “to ban the Moscow Patriarchate’s activities in our village altogether and stop their construction.” He claimed that “our entire district has joined the OCU” and complained that Nichohivka had become a center where UOC faithful from nearby villages came to pray. The regional council responded to Lushchynskyi’s denunciation and demanded that the village head halt the construction. He complied: with police assistance, the work was stopped.
The result: UOC faithful from Nichohivka and neighboring villages now have nowhere to pray. A textbook example of freedom of religion. And anyone who objects is, of course, a Kremlin agent.
Read also
Portrait of the “сonscience of the nation”
Shevchuk waxes eloquent about the uniqueness of the Ukrainian nation and the value of human life – while supporting the sweeping mobilization that is grinding that very nation down.
OCU in the Lavra: When a recording replaces the choir
Parishioners have been pushed out of the Lavra. The monks are barred from the churches. But there is room for a handful of OCU “monks.”
Sviatohirsk murder no one is allowed to talk about
Logic suggests that Zelensky was informed about the monk’s murder that very day.
Sviatohirsk Lavra tragedy: A confession of faith or not?
The killers came to the monastery and, after hearing the words “Glory to our Lord God” in response, began to kill. What matters is that the victims were given a choice: they could give the “right” answer and escape death.
Have the talking points on the Sviatohirsk murder already been rolled out?
Espreso gives viewers the unmistakable impression that nothing particularly terrible happened – and that no one should feel too sorry for the “Moscow Patriarchate monks.”
Why are a rabbi and an exarch pleading for corruption suspects?
The rabbi and the exarch are both highly intelligent men and cannot fail to understand that their actions are dealing a serious blow to their reputations. Yet they still went to court. Why?