Clergy and parishioners of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) were injured during a forceful takeover of the Church of Saint Prince Alexander Nevsky in Odesa, according to statements released by the Odesa Diocese.

The diocese reported that the incident occurred the previous day, when a group of individuals supporting the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) entered the church grounds and attempted to take control of the building. During the confrontation, priests and worshippers who allegedly tried to defend the church were assaulted, resulting in injuries, including to the secretary of the Odesa Diocese.

According to the diocese, the parish of the Alexander Nevsky church has not made any decision to change its ecclesiastical jurisdiction and remains part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Deacon Andrey Palchuk, spokesperson for the Odesa Diocese, said the events were accompanied by the use of force and the blocking of parishioners’ access to the church territory. He added that clashes occurred both at the church gates and inside the building during the takeover attempt.

The Union of Orthodox Journalists reported that representatives of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine stated their intention to rename the seized church, saying it would be dedicated to Saint Agapitus of the Kiev Caves. They also reportedly described icons of Saint Matrona of Moscow and Saint Xenia of St. Petersburg found inside the church as “markers of Moscow religious life.”

In recent years, Ukrainian authorities have pursued a policy encouraging religious communities to transition from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which was established in 2018. The process has been accompanied by ongoing disputes over church property, legal battles, and repeated allegations of forced takeovers of religious sites.

The Odesa Diocese has condemned the actions at the Alexander Nevsky church as illegal and says it intends to pursue legal remedies to defend its rights and the status of the parish.

The latest incident highlights continuing tensions within Ukraine’s Orthodox Christian community amid broader disputes over ecclesiastical jurisdiction and church property ownership.