On December 13, 2022, the Ivano-Frankivsk diocese gave an official response to the statement of the mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk Ruslan Martsinkiv, who promised to evict the community in honor of the Nativity of Christ from the premises of the UOC church.

The diocese reminded the mayor that the court opened a criminal case on forgery of documents and illegal registration of the OCU community, and this case is currently being investigated.

Also, the press service of the diocese noted that there is no Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine: “Since October 1990, the UOC had the status of autonomy and independence in administration with its center in Kyiv, and at the Council on May 27, 2022, it gained complete independence from the ROC.”

In addition, the mayor was told that the Constitution of Ukraine guarantees the freedom of conscience and religion of citizens.