The Orthodox religious community of the city of Sloviansk in Donetsk region has officially transitioned under the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), also changing its name. From now on, it will be called “Religious Organization ‘Religious Community of the Holy Martyrs Faith, Hope, Love, and their Mother Sophia of the city of Sloviansk in the Donetsk region of the Donetsk-Sloviansk Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.’ Such changes have been recorded in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs, and Public Formations.
This is reported by Finway
Confirmation of the Legitimacy of the Transition and a New Stage for the Parish
The decision to join the OCU was made at a meeting of parishioners, who also approved the new name. The procedure and legitimacy of the meeting were examined by the local authorities of Sloviansk and the Donetsk Regional Administration. According to the head of the Parish Council, Oleksandr Onyshchenko, representatives of the authorities confirmed the legal correctness and finality of the decisions made, which is reflected in the re-registration of the parish’s legal entity in public sources.
“The legitimacy of this meeting was examined by the authorities of Sloviansk and the Donetsk Regional Administration. They confirmed the legal validity and conclusiveness of our meetings, votes, and decisions,” said Oleksandr Onyshchenko, head of the Parish Council, to Radio Svoboda. “We finalized this decision at the national level through the re-registration of the parish’s legal entity, which is clearly visible in public sources.”
The Community Seeks Services in Ukrainian and Support for Defenders
As reported by Metropolitan Serhiy Horobtsov of the Donetsk and Mariupol OCU, the residents of Sloviansk have long expressed a desire for services to be conducted in Ukrainian, with prayers for Ukrainian soldiers and the nation being heard in the churches. He emphasized that the community’s transition is not only a religious decision but also a significant moral and civic choice that demonstrates the strengthening of Ukrainian society in faith, unity, and the pursuit of truth.
According to the metropolitan, this community became the second in Donetsk region to join the OCU. The first was a religious community in Kostiantynivka in 2021.
The venue for the services has been designated as the Cathedral of Faith, Hope, Love, and their Mother Sophia (Holy Alexander Nevsky Cathedral), built between 1895 and 1897, located near the railway station in the city of Sloviansk. However, according to Oleksandr Onyshchenko, services in the cathedral have not yet begun due to the need to resolve technical issues related to the safety of parishioners and the organization of public events in a city that regularly faces shelling from Russian troops.
From 2022 to 2025, no other religious community in Donetsk region has transitioned to the OCU.