Vilne. OCU raiders cut the locks and seized the UOC church

Church of the Holy Great Martyr Panteleimon of the UOC

Address: Dnipropetrovsk Region, village of Vilne, 4a Druzhby Street.

A group of raiders affiliated with the OCU from the village of Vilne organized an operation to seize the St. Panteleimon Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Imitating an alleged “public demand,” local OCU activists began abruptly convening meetings at the local House of Culture.

In parallel, the raiders initiated a process of unlawful re-registration of the church.

After achieving changes in the ownership documentation, the criminal group deprived Orthodox Christians of their church.

On May 14, 2023, in the village of Vilne, at a gathering of local residents near the House of Culture, a “decision” was adopted to transfer the parish of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to the OCU.

The event, which was presented as a “parish meeting,” was initiated by former UOC cleric Maksym Krylach. Another former clergyman of the Kryvyi Rih Diocese, Serhii Kovalenko, also participated. The gathering was chaired by local journalist Svitlana Romanenko. In addition to residents of Vilne, individuals from the neighboring villages of Radionivka and Lozuvatka also took part in the voting.

The press service of the Kryvyi Rih Diocese of the UOC emphasized that UOC believers did not participate in this event. On the eve of the gathering, the church community had formally notified local authorities and the police in writing about the illegality of the planned meeting. Earlier, at a legitimate parish meeting, members of the community confirmed their loyalty to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and to His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy of Kyiv and All Ukraine.

“Given that the discussion on changing the parish’s jurisdiction took place without the presence of the rector of the church, Archpriest Maksym Omelchenko, and without members of the existing religious community, and was conducted by citizens who are not only not members of the religious community but some of whom are not even residents of the locality where the church is located, such an event may be regarded as a direct violation of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations’ and, under martial law, as an action aimed at destabilizing the situation in the Kryvyi Rih District and inciting interreligious hostility in the Kryvyi Rih region,” the diocese stated.

(Source: SPZh)

On April 14, 2025, it became known that the unlawful re-registration of the religious community-sought by the perpetrators for more than a yearhad taken place.

Attempts to deprive UOC believers of the House of God have been ongoing since 2023. At that time, OCU-affiliated raiders organized a meeting of the territorial community, during which they resolved to “transfer” the church.

Meanwhile, the legitimate parish of the church held a meeting of the religious community at which the faithful unanimously confirmed that they remain within the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Despite this, the church was re-registered on April 3, 2024. Because the documents submitted to the regional administration were, according to the believers, falsified, officials refrained from making a decision for a long time, fearing an obvious violation of the law.

The parish had already feared provocations at that time.

On the eve of Easter, representatives of the OCU attempted to enter the church, but the UOC community did not allow them to do so. It is reported that police officers also prevented the forcible seizure of the church. After this, the church was closed for the duration of the proceedings.

(Source: the “DOZOR on the First Cossack” project)

On May 22, 2025, OCU activists cut the locks with an angle grinder and seized the church.

According to information disseminated by OCU activists, the community allegedly “returned to its church” following an official transfer. However, the real situation is fundamentally different from this version.

The believers managed to save the icons and church property from desecration.

The UOC parish was preparing to file a lawsuit, intending to resolve the conflict exclusively within the legal framework.

(Source: SPZh)