The authorities in Bila Tserkva are continuing their attempts to expropriate the property of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church monastery

The authorities in Bila Tserkva are making new attempts to return the buildings of the women’s monastery dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, Equal to the Apostles—which belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church—to municipal ownership. Despite a series of rulings in favor of the religious community, the dispute over the complex of buildings, which covers an area of approximately 3,000 square meters, has entered a new phase in court.

According to the regional publication “Crocus, ” the convent had previously succeeded in defending its rights in the Economic Court and the Northern Economic Court of Appeals. However, the situation changed after the Commercial Court of Cassation upheld the city council’s position regarding the termination of the right to use the land plot. Following this, local authorities initiated new legal proceedings, demanding that the privatization of the monastery buildings at 11 Shkilna Street be declared illegal.

According to Volodymyr Vovkotrub, secretary of the Bila Tserkva City Council, the court of first instance has already ruled in favor of the municipality, ordering the community to return the property. In turn, representatives of the monastery have filed an appeal, meaning that a final decision has not yet been reached. Representatives of the monastery continue to insist on the legality of their rights, while city authorities are persistently seeking to have the disputed premises transferred to the ownership of the local community.

As a reminder, we previously reported that residents of one of the neighborhoods in Bila Tserkva (Kyiv Oblast) are demanding that the St. Nicholas Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church be transferred to the ownership of the OCU. It is reported that no divine services have been held at the church for the past 10 years, as it is located on the grounds of a local preschool. At the same time, supporters of the OCU claim that the church is allegedly ownerless and therefore should belong to them.