Court returns to UOC community the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ivankov seized by OCU supporters

The Northern Economic Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) community in the case of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ivankiv, Kyiv region. The appellate instance overturned the previous decision of the first instance, fully satisfying the rector’s claims, and invalidated the newly revised charter, on the basis of which the religious community was re-registered to the OCU. This decision marks the return of the shrine to the legitimate community of the UOC.

As Archpriest Nikita Chekman, a lawyer of the UOC, reported on his Telegram channel on February 26, 2026, this re-registration was carried out with numerous violations. Among such violations is the participation in the meeting that served as the basis for changing the canonical subordination of persons who do not belong to a religious community. Moreover, these participants included people who were already deceased at the time.

These illegal re-registration actions led to the subsequent seizure of the church on May 21, 2022, when raiders from the OCU seized the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ivankiv, relying on controversial re-registration decisions and acting with the support of the police and territorial defense.

The decision of the Court of Appeal came into force immediately. Archpriest Nikita Chekman expressed hope for the real implementation of this decision and the actual return of the shrine to the legitimate religious community, concluding his address with the words: «Thank you all for your support and prayers. God is with us!»

We recall that on February 20, 2026, an incident occurred in the village of Shchaslyve near Kyiv with the seizure of the St. Nicholas Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church: supporters of the OCU broke the locks and installed their own. The legal community of the UOC, despite previous attempts to transfer the church, continues to defend its rights.