Ryhor Azaronak stated that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is “the largest religion” in Ukraine. Technically, this is true if one considers the number of churches and parishes. However, the situation is different in terms of the number of parishioners. Most Ukrainians identify with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, and support for the UOC-MP has sharply declined since the start of the full-scale war.
Context: Patriarch Kirill of Moscow published a book titled War: Beyond the Visible Causes and Consequences, in which he attributes the war to religious causes. He ascribes a “redemptive meaning” to the war, argues that its outcome is determined by God, and says that the Russian people have a “great responsibility not to shirk their historical duty to be victors.” Although Ukraine is not explicitly mentioned in the book, it was published amid this conflict. Earlier, Patriarch Kirill described Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “a continuation of the unfinished war in which we achieved the Great Victory in the spring of 1945.”
On the July 28, 2026 episode of the CTV program Azaryonok. Napryamuyu, Ryhor Azaronak claimed that the Moscow Patriarchate Church remains the largest church in Ukraine.
“The largest religious denomination is the UOC-MP. And then simply the UOC. After all, they broke away from the Moscow Patriarchate at the beginning of the special military operation. It seems to be the largest religion, and you [the Ukrainian authorities — ed. note] are supposedly expected to consolidate the nation during the war or other events. But no, you persecute, destroy, and oppress the largest church,” said Azaronak.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, also known as the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), although it officially refers to itself simply as the UOC, does indeed remain the largest church in Ukraine in terms of the number of churches and parishes. However, in terms of believers' self-identification, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), not the UOC-MP, leads. It was founded in 2018 when the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate merged.
In 2021, before the start of the full-scale war, one out of every four Ukrainians surveyed identified with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. 13% of surveyed Ukrainian residents identified with the Church of the Moscow Patriarchate at that time. By 2025, the share of UOC-MP supporters had fallen to 5%. Another 10% identified as simply Orthodox. Meanwhile, 42% of surveyed Ukrainian residents identified as supporters of the OCU.
In other words, the ratio of self-identified believers — 5% versus 42% — does not support the claim that the UOC-MP is Ukraine’s largest church based on the number of parishioners.
