The court proceedings in the case regarding the ban on the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have been postponed again

The Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal in Kyiv ruled to postpone the hearing on the case regarding the dissolution of the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church until July 22, 2026. The defense’s motion was granted, and the next hearing was scheduled for 10:00 a.m. This was reported bythe UOC’s attorney, Archpriest Nikita Chekman.

The legal dispute dates back to September 2025, when the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (GESS) filed a lawsuit demanding the dissolution of the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC. In response to these actions, the Church’s lawyers filed a counterclaim seeking to have the actions of the GESS head declared unlawful and to overturn the order approving the “religious studies expert review” of the UOC’s Charter.

A key milestone in the proceedings was the decision of the Administrative Court of Cassation on May 19, 2026, which fully upheld the Metropolis’s appeal. Previously, the court had already characterized the GESS expert assessment as “flawed” and legally invalid. In light of the upcoming lengthy hiatus in the proceedings, representatives of the UOC’s legal department called on the faithful to support the Church through intensified prayer.