DESS establishes affiliation of Holosiivskyi Monastery of the UOC with the ROC

The State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) has officially announced that it has found signs of a connection between the Holy Protection Monastery of the Holosiivskyi Desert and the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). The study was conducted from January 26 to March 19, 2026, at the initiative of MPs. This is reported by the press service of the DESS.

During the inspection, the agency found that the Holosiivskyi Desert is a structural unit of the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). The main argument of the DESS was that the Kyiv Metropolis had previously been recognized as affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church, and thus this legal and canonical connection applies to all organizations within it, including the monastery. The agency emphasizes that the monastery’s activities are regulated by internal documents of the UOC, and its management is subordinate to the Holy Synod and Metropolitan of Kyiv.

An additional argument used by the State Emergency Service was the provisions of the ROC statute. The official document of the service states that the bishops of the UOC participate in the governing bodies of the Russian Orthodox Church, which is seen as direct evidence of administrative and canonical dependence. Based on these conclusions, the monastery was classified as an organization that has ties to a religious center whose activities are restricted or prohibited in Ukraine.

Experts and the media point out that the actual reason for the detailed inspection was the activity of the Orthodox school operating at the monastery. According to available data, the school used materials from the Soviet period and taught Russian. Earlier, the agency had already announced its intention to inspect the monastery complex precisely because of the specifics of the educational process in this school.

Earlier it was reported that the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) announced the opening of an appeal proceeding in the Supreme Court in the case of the termination of the activities of the Korets Holy Trinity Women’s Stavropegic Monastery.