Cherkasy region authorities try to transfer Krasnogorsk Monastery of the UOC to state ownership through court

The Zolotonosha District Prosecutor’s Office has initiated a lawsuit to recognize the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s (UOC) ownership of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin Krasnogorsk Convent in the village of Bakayivka as illegal. The corresponding lawsuit was filed with the Economic Court of Cherkasy region on March 17. This was reported by the Dozor Telegram channel.

The main demand of the prosecutors is the seizure of the monastery and its transfer to state ownership. The legal basis for the lawsuit was a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, according to which the buildings on the territory of the monastery – in particular, the Transfiguration Church and the Intercession Church – were recognized as architectural monuments. At the same time, journalists note the paradoxical nature of the situation: The Church of the Intercession was built in the modern period, but is still included in this list.

The defense and church observers point out that the Krasnohorsk Monastery has historically never been state property. Even in Soviet times, despite the looting of 1922, the monastery retained its autonomy: in 1941, the nuns returned to the monastery, and in the 1960s it became a refuge for sisters from other closed churches, continuing to operate throughout most of its history.

The publication also expresses concerns about the objectivity of the trial. It is reported that Judge G. Skiba in his ruling ordered the representatives of the monastery to clarify the canonical affiliation of the monastery to a particular “patriarchate”, which is regarded by observers as a manifestation of bias. The court hearing in this case is scheduled for April 21.

Earlier, MP Ihor Huz threatened to take away two important monasteries of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, located in Zymne and Nyzhkynychi, Volyn region, in favor of the OCU. The MP called on the monks in these monasteries to move to the OCU or prepare for eviction.