Aleksandr Lyman

Aleksandr Lyman

Cleric of the Kyiv Eparchy of the OCU

Since the OCU's founding, Lyman has personally taken part in raider seizures of UOC churches, and in attacks on believers and clergy.

In 2019, the OCU cleric initiated a raider seizure of the UOC Dormition Church in the village of Pohreby, Kyiv Oblast.

Lyman directly participated in the harassment of the church's religious community and subsequently in the storming of the church. Furthermore, the OCU cleric was engaged on more than one occasion to organize attacks on UOC churches in Kyiv Oblast.

There is information indicating that he has served in the Security Service of Ukraine.

From February 2019, Lyman took an active part in the raider seizure of the Holy Dormition UOC Church in the village of Pohreby, Kyiv Oblast.

On February 2, 2019, an illegal assembly of the territorial community was held in the village of Pohreby.

In the village council's meeting hall, a group of people with no connection to the community of the UOC Dormition Church "unanimously" decided to re-register the church under the OCU.

The clergy and parishioners of the Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God, faithful to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, were at that time praying outside the church, wishing to protect it from outside radicals.

Nearby stood a bus with law enforcement officers.

Representatives of the "National Druzhyny" were spotted at the scene.

(Source: SPZH)
Already on March 17, 2019, representatives of the territorial community — who are not parishioners of the Holy Dormition UOC Church — again held a vote on "transferring" to the OCU and entered the church during a worship service.

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Police who arrived at the scene removed everyone from the church. Since then, believers of the canonical Church have been forced to pray outdoors near their own church.

(Source: SPZH)

On June 9, 2019, Lyman attempted to illegally enter the church grounds and perform a rite in front of the sealed church doors.

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On June 11, 2019, a criminal group seized the religious community's church house; a security guard was injured during the seizure, Archpriest Aleksey Nosenko, head of the Legal Department of the Boryspil Eparchy, told an SPZH correspondent.

According to the clergyman, at 5:00 PM approximately 40 OCU activists approached the church house and pushed out the security guards, who were present there under a security services contract.

Once outside, one of the "believers" of the new church structure sprayed tear gas directly into the eyes of a security guard. Law enforcement officers standing a meter away did not detain the offender, but later noted that they had recorded him on a dashcam and would therefore easily identify him.

"At first the police were simply present — they were called right away. When they sprayed gas in the face of the security firm's employee, the police were standing a meter away from him. They did not detain the offender. When the security guards were pushed off the church grounds, our people were not allowed back in — they started separating everyone," Archpriest Aleksey told the journalist.

He added that UOC parishioners gradually began to gather at the scene as well, though no more than 20 people assembled. Members of the religious community were never able to enter the grounds of the church house that had previously belonged to them.

The confrontation lasted approximately 2 hours. The injured security guard filed a report with the police. It later became known that as a result of the OCU activist's attack, the man suffered a serious burn to his right eye and is currently undergoing treatment. The victim's eye barely opens.

Archpriest Aleksey stated that the question of the religious affiliation of the Holy Dormition Church's community is before the courts, and that at present OCU representatives have no legal claim to either the church or the church house.

"The religious conflict in the village of Pohreby has been ongoing since early February 2019. The religious community of the canonical Church filed a lawsuit, and the case is currently in proceedings. The question of community ownership has not yet been adjudicated by the court," emphasized the head of the Legal Department of the Boryspil Eparchy.

(Source: SPZH)

According to data from the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organizations of Ukraine, Lyman is listed as the director of the illegally re-registered religious community of the church.

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(Source: Opendatabot)

On September 17, 2022, OCU supporters seized the historic Church of the Resurrection of Christ in the village of Zazymye, Kyiv Oblast.

From early morning, OCU supporters gathered near the church and barred UOC believers from entering.

Believers prayed near the church; there was a heavy police presence at the scene, with police taking the side of the OCU; representatives of the territorial defense and local authorities were also present.

For a long time the situation remained relatively calm: the UOC community prayed while OCU supporters stood apart.

The situation changed when Lyman appeared on the scene and began inciting hatred against UOC believers and clergy, insulting clergymen and inciting OCU activists to commit criminal acts.

A confrontation began near the church. OCU supporters behaved aggressively. One believer's car tire was slashed. One female activist attempted to snatch a camera from the hands of a journalist from "Pershyi Kozatskyi."

After this, OCU supporters cut the locks and seized the church.

(Source: SPZH)

On March 17, 2025, a group of OCU raiders entered the grounds of the UOC Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in the city of Brovary.
The criminal group attempted to enter the church and demanded that the keys be handed over to them.

The rector of the church, Father Aleksandr Levchuk, reported that on March 13 a group of raiders carried out an illegal re-registration of the church.
It was precisely on March 17 that the clergyman was delivering to the police a criminal complaint against the activists of Epifaniy.

The rector of the church was summoned to the scene by representatives of the authorities, who were already there together with the raiders and demanded that the keys be surrendered.

The clergyman and parishioners refused, and the raiders, led by Lyman, attempted to change the locks.

Police were called to the scene, and UOC believers again filed a report on the raider seizure.

(Source: Project "DOZOR on Pershyi Kozatskyi")

On April 30, 2025, at approximately 4–5 AM, OCU clerics seized the UOC Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in the city of Brovary.

They cut the locks on the doors with an angle grinder and replaced them with their own. The seizure evidently took place with the knowledge of the police.

Lyman was present at the scene, coordinating the actions of the criminal group.

(Source: SPZH)

According to data from the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organizations of Ukraine, Lyman was for a time listed as the director of the illegally re-registered religious community of the church.

(Source: Opendatabot)

On February 14, 2026, a raider seizure of the UOC Church of St. John in the city of Kyiv, in the Bykivnia district, took place.
A group of unidentified individuals in camouflage stormed the church grounds and blockaded the church.

On February 13, a group of OCU activists and clerics came to the church. They brought falsified documents for the church and offered the believers to hand over the keys themselves.

The rector of the church, Archimandrite Pavlo (Sergeev), asked the activists to at least allow UOC believers to hold a memorial service for a fallen soldier — the son of a church parishioner.

Already on February 14, as Orthodox Christians were gathering for prayer, vehicles carrying a criminal group arrived at the shrine. OCU raiders cut the hinges off the door and began seizing the premises of the church complex.

Lyman was recorded at the scene attempting to break the lock on one of the premises.

(Source: Project "DOZOR on Pershyi Kozatskyi")