“Orthodox Church of Ukraine” Invades Canonical Territory in the Czech Republic

OCP News Service – 23/08/2025

Kyiv – Ukraine: A recent social media announcement by Ukrainian ambassador to the Czech Republic, Vasyl Varych, has sparked controversy, with critics accusing the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) of violating its Tomos of Autocephaly by establishing a “Chaplaincy Mission” in Brno. The mission, presented as a way to provide spiritual support for Ukrainian believers, had its first service planned for August 23.

According to a report from the Union of Orthodox Journalists, this move directly contradicts the terms of the Tomos granted by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in 2019. The document explicitly states that the OCU’s jurisdiction is limited to Ukraine’s borders and that it “does not have the right to establish parishes or church structures outside the territory of Ukraine.” Existing overseas parishes are subject to the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

This action has been widely condemned as an invasion of the canonical territory of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia (PCČZS), which is the sole recognized Orthodox Church in the region. The PCČZS does not recognize the OCU as canonical, a stance shared by the majority of other Local Orthodox Churches. While the OCU states its mission is to care for Ukrainian refugees, the Czech-Slovak Church has been actively providing spiritual, material, and humanitarian support to these communities since the start of the conflict in Ukraine.

The decision to establish the mission in Brno is particularly notable due to the history of the local hierarch, Bishop Isaiah (Slaninka). Bishop Isaiah, who was consecrated in 2015 without the blessing of the Czech-Slovak Holy Synod, has a record of controversial actions. In late 2019, he concelebrated with OCU schismatics in Kyiv and was accused of cooperating with Constantinople to establish an unapproved monastery. He also concelebrated with defrocked clerics in April 2023. This is not the first instance of the OCU establishing structures outside its canonical territory in violation of its Tomos; similar encroachments have been reported by OrthoChristian in Slovenia, Poland, and territories in America, Canada, Australia, and Japan.

Source:

OCP News Service