Court adjourns hearing in case of UOC brethren's access to churches of Upper Lavra

The Northern Economic Court of Appeal of Kyiv has postponed the hearing on the lawsuit filed by the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Monastery of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) for access to the churches of the Upper Lavra. According to the new decision, the next hearing in this case is scheduled for March 12, 2026.

According to the Fortress Lavra Telegram channel, the hearing, which was originally scheduled for February 24, 2026, was postponed at the request of the monastery ‘s lawyers. Representatives of the monastery requested a postponement due to the lack of opportunity to fully familiarize themselves with the case file, and the court granted the request.

The case concerns the important issue of allowing the brethren of the Kyiv Cave Monastery of the UOC to use the churches located on the territory of the Upper Lavra. The postponement of the hearing for two weeks will allow the parties to prepare more thoroughly for further consideration of this important case.

Earlier, we reported that the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine transferred the first two buildings on the territory of the Lower Lavra to the representatives of the OCU for free use. We are talking about the 49th and 70th buildings — the residences of the Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine and the Chancellery of the Kyiv Metropolis.