Ivano-Frankivsk, seizure of the last UOC church in the city and region, the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ
Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
Address: Ivano-Frankivsk, Oleksandra Dovzhenko Street, 2
By early 2023, the cathedral became the last UOC church in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. All other churches and monasteries were either closed by local authorities or seized by OCU activists.
On March 28, 2023, one of the most brutal church seizures in Ukrainian history occurred.
A group of angry activists stormed the grounds of the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ivano-Frankivsk and attacked worshippers and clergy.
Ivano-Frankivsk Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv actively participated in the seizure of UOC holy sites.
He was the one who called for the seizure of the last church in the region.
On April 4, 2022, Ivano-Frankivsk Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv spread a fake story about the alleged conversion of the congregation and clergy of the UOC Nativity of Christ Cathedral to the OCU.
In a live broadcast on his Facebook page, Martsinkiv effectively called for the forcible seizure of the cathedral, offering city residents the opportunity to "help" with the transition.
In response, the Ivano-Frankivsk Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church appealed for protection to President Zelenskyy, the head of the Presidential Office, Yermak, the head of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration, the head of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Ivano-Frankivsk Region, and the head of the Security Service of Ukraine in Ivano-Frankivsk Region.
"We inform you that our Ivano-Frankivsk Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is experiencing ongoing, unfounded, and unprecedented harassment from local authorities! Priests and believers are subjected to pressure and threats. Currently, all churches and monasteries of the diocese, with the exception of the Nativity of Christ Cathedral in Ivano-Frankivsk, are forcibly closed and sealed.
On April 4, 2022, the Mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk, Ruslan Martsinkiv, addressed the city's residents live at 8:16 a.m. with fake news about the alleged "voluntary" change of denomination by the religious community of the Nativity of Christ Cathedral and called on (!) the city's residents to assist the community in converting to another denomination, namely, the OCU.
We officially declare and emphasize that neither the clergy nor the congregation of the cathedral made such a decision or approached the mayor with such a question, as he noted in his statement."
(Source: Press Service of the Ivano-Frankivsk Diocese of the UOC)
On June 26, 2022, the cathedral's parishioners held a religious community meeting.
496 Orthodox residents of Ivano-Frankivsk gathered after the early and late Liturgies and unanimously voted for allegiance to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The following day, June 27, 2022, Mayor Martsinkiv, in a live broadcast on his official Facebook page, defying all current provisions of the Constitution, Ukrainian laws, and international legal norms regarding the exercise of the right to freedom of religion, called on city residents to "help" the congregation of the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ physically convert to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
(Source: Press Service of the Ivano-Frankivsk Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church)
On July 8, 2022, supporters of the OCU, led by individuals who forged the minutes of the cathedral community meeting, expressed a desire to hold "their own" service in the church.
A group of approximately 30 people, who had not previously attended the Church of the Nativity of Christ, approached the gates around 4:00 PM.
As it turned out during the conversation, most of them were parishioners of the UGCC and the OCU.
Some of those who expressed a desire to "pray in the church" were aggressive and shouted threats and obscene language.
The first attempt to storm the cathedral occurred on December 11, 2022.
A group of masked militants stormed the shrine during a service. The activists were gathered by mayoral adviser Nazariy Kishlak.
On March 28, 2023, a group of unknown individuals stormed the cathedral grounds. They pushed back the worshippers and stormed the church. The attackers used tear gas and nerve gas against the Orthodox Christians.
As a result of this impact, the diocesan secretary, Father Vasily Romanyuk, who suffers from heart disease, fell and began to choke.
The priest was hospitalized with severe nerve gas poisoning.
Parishioners were forced to take Father Vasyl to a hospital in Chernivtsi, another city, because the Orthodox priest was refused admission in Ivano-Frankivsk.
To this day, none of the participants in the attack on the clergy and parishioners of the UOC Nativity of Christ Cathedral have been held accountable for their crimes.
OCU raiders are currently inside the cathedral.
КУ ст. 35 (свобода вероисповедания) · ЕСПЧ ст. 9 · Нормы ООН