Dumenko claims OCU has 11 times more parishioners than UOC
Serhii Dumenko. Photo: OCU
Epifaniy Dumenko has claimed that the number of parishioners in the OCU under his leadership is more than 11 times higher than the number of faithful in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The claim appears in a report published on the pomisna.info website.
In the report, Dumenko cited data from a survey conducted last year by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology. According to the figures he presented, 63% of Ukrainians identify as Orthodox, while 50% of all respondents identify with the OCU – around 80% of the country’s Orthodox population. Another 9% described themselves as Orthodox without specifying a jurisdiction, while only 4% said they belonged to the UOC. Six percent of respondents identified with the UGCC.
Dumenko said the figures confirmed that his structure remains the country’s largest religious organization even under what he described as the UOC’s “abnormal existence.”
As the UOJ reported, Dumenko previously called for unity with those who “carry out the orders of the bloody patriarch.”
Read also
Greece signs memorandum on protection of Jerusalem Patriarchate's shrines
Next week, the Greek Parliament will ratify a document on the protection of the cultural heritage of the Jerusalem Patriarchate.
Greek bishop calls imposition of same-sex marriage a threat
Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythera urged families to become a “domestic church” amid threats to the Christian family in Greek laws and school curricula.
Patriarch Bartholomew arrives in Budapest for opening of Orthodox center
The Ecumenical Patriarch has arrived in Hungary, where he will preside over the consecration of the Orthodox center "Phanarion."
OCU raiders stage attack on seized church in Kyiv, media
OCU "hierarch" Serhiy Horobtsov published a provocative post online regarding St. John's Church in Bykivnia seized by his people.