MP announces inspection of Zimnenskyy Monastery of the UOC for "ties to Russia"

Ukrainian MP Ihor Huz has announced an inspection of the Stavropegial Zymnensky Monastery of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church «for the purpose of its affiliation with the Russian Federation.» The initiative is aimed at strengthening state control over religious facilities managed by the UOC in the Volyn region.

According to the BUG news outlet, during a speech to the Volyn Regional Council on March 31, the deputy emphasized that the inspection would be carried out by the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience (DESS). According to Ihor Huz, «there are good reasons to believe that the monastery is associated with the aggressor state.»

In addition to the issue of the Zimnensky Monastery, the deputy raised the issue of the use of the St. Nicholas Monastery of the UOC in the village of Miltsi, Kovel district. The lease agreement for these buildings, which are state property, expired on January 1, 2023, but the facility has not yet been transferred to state control. «Three months have passed! This is unacceptable! » said Guz, insisting on decisive action by the relevant ministries and agencies.

As a result of the session, 41 deputies of the regional council supported a draft appeal to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, the Minister of Culture, and the leadership of the SES. The document concerns the inadmissibility of extending lease agreements for religious buildings with representatives of the UOC and the need to return the shrines to the control of the Ukrainian state.

Earlier, the odious head of the Volyn Diocese of the OCU, Mikhail Zinkevich , accused the Ukrainian authorities of «lacking political will» in the issue of expropriation of the property of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Zinkevich believes that the state could have taken away all the Lavras from the UOC long ago, because, in his opinion, «fire adjusters» are sitting in the monasteries.