On April 10, 2024, the Supreme Court of Ukraine held a hearing on the case of expropriation in favor of the state of the temples-monuments of architecture used by religious communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The case concerns the St. Archangel Michael Church in the city of Pereyaslav, Kyiv region, and the St. Nicholas Church in the city of Kamenets-Podolsky, Khmelnitsky region. The Supreme Court decided to return the temples to state ownership. About it reports the website of the Ministry of culture and information policy.
“The Supreme Court in the panel of the Cassation economic court upheld the decision of the Economic court of Kyiv region and the decision of the Northern economic court of appeal in the case № 911/638/23. The decision satisfied the claims of the National Historical and Ethnographic Reserve “Pereyaslav” and the ICIP against the Religious Community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church for the removal of obstacles in the exercise of the right to use St. Michael’s Church. The decision of the Supreme Court is final and not subject to appeal, the Religious Community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of St. Michael’s parish of Pereyaslav should voluntarily release St. Michael’s Church and transfer it for use to the National Historical and Ethnographic Reserve “Pereyaslav”. In case of non-fulfillment of obligations, the execution of the Supreme Court decision will be enforced in a compulsory order established by law,” – stated in the message of the Ministry.
In addition, the ministry said that it had won a court case over the expropriation of the St. Nicholas Church in Kamyanets-Podilskyi from the Mykolaiv religious community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This temple in the Ministry of the Ministry also demand to release.
“In addition, today the Supreme Court also left without satisfaction the cassation appeal of the Religious Community of the UOC in the case 924/318/23, by which it tried to cancel the decision of the courts of previous instances. As a result, the Supreme Court fully clarified all the circumstances of the case and made a lawful and well-founded decision to leave the cassation appeal without satisfaction, and the decision of the courts of first and appellate instances without changes and: obliged the religious organization Kamyanets-Podilsky St. Nicholas parish of Kamyanets-Podilsky Eparchy of the UOC Kamyanets-Podilskyi. Kamyanets-Podilsky, Khmelnitsky region, to release the church building and transfer it to the National historical and architectural reserve “Kamenets”, – summarized in the Ministry.
We will remind, earlier we reported that the ancient Uspensky (St. George) Cathedral of the XIII century, previously expropriated by the state from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, now stands closed. It is reported that the temple may become part of the Shevchenko National Reserve.
