In Bukovina, two more religious communities have severed ties with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Religious communities from the villages of Malyatyntsi and Verkhnі Stanyvtsi in Bukovyna have severed ties with the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. During the meetings, community members voted in favor of the transition and established a new charter for the religious community of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The gatherings were not without conflicts, as reported by the clergy of the OCU who were present at the meetings.

The meeting of the church community of St. Nicholas Church in the village of Malyatyntsi, part of the Stavchany community, took place on February 1 at the local club. A total of 142 people registered for the meeting. Out of these, 98 attendees voted in favor of the transition, reported OCU priest Roman Gryshchuk.

Meanwhile, 44 community members expressed their opposition to the change of jurisdiction. Additionally, the current priest of the church from the UOC, Mykola Hubka, stated to “Suspilne.Chernivtsi” that he does not believe the meeting was valid, arguing that not everyone was aware of it and therefore could not vote.

On Sunday, February 2, a meeting of the religious parish of St. Nicholas Church was also held in the village of Verkhnі Stanyvtsi, part of the Brusnytsia community in the Vyzhnytsia district. This was also reported by priest Roman Gryshchuk. A total of 198 community members attended the meeting, all of whom voted for the change of jurisdiction of the religious organization.

Supporters of the UOC MP were also present near the church where the meetings took place, but they refused to register. After the community members voted for the transition and the new charter of the organization, everyone present was invited to pray and sing the national anthem of Ukraine. At that moment, the parishioners of the UOC MP began shouting: “Shame!”

Additionally, it is worth noting that there are 376 religious communities in Chernivtsi Oblast that belong to the UOC MP. The majority are located in Chernivtsi district – 212, followed by Vyzhnytsia – 48, and Dnistrovskyi – 95. Meanwhile, 169 religious communities are under the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

Since 2019, meetings have taken place in 43 populated areas of the region where citizens decided to change their canonical subordination from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Since the beginning of the full-scale aggression, religious communities from 25 populated areas have transitioned from the UOC to the OCU: in 2022 – 6 religious communities, in 2023 – 12, and in 2024 – 7. Beginning in 2025, the religious communities of the villages of Dubivtsi and Pidzakharichi became the fourth and fifth, respectively, to have already transitioned to the OCU.