Raiders seize the church of the Kazan icon of the Theotokos belonging to Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Chyhyryn

DECR Communication Service, 23.12. 2025.

The church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was seized in the city of Chyhyryn, Cherkassy region, Ukraine, on December 22, around noon. The rector of the church is Archpriest Anatoly Prykotenko, dean of the Chyhyryn district.

According to parishioners, no one was inside the church at the time of the crime. The raiders cut the locks and gained access to the building.

As the Union of Orthodox Journalists reports, the seizure was led by Nazary Zasansky, who calls himself a chaplain of the OCU. He arrived in Chyhyryn with a group of about 50 people in military fatigues.

On 21 February 2025, without the consent of the religious community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the parish was re‑registered into a schismatic structure with the involvement of Viktor Tymoshenko, the builder and founder of the church and a former member of the Verkhovna Rada. However, there were no local followers of the OCU in Chyhyryn willing to seize the church. It was only about a year later that out‑of‑town raiders committed these illegal actions.

“The most surprising is a video posted by Nazary Zasansky to his social media, in which he with blatant cynicism makes waves about empty altar and credence table. This is how the thief is lamenting that he has not stolen something else besides the walls,” parishioners commented on the situation.

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Raiders seize the church of the Kazan icon of the Theotokos belonging to Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Chyhyryn

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons