"This Isn't the UOC": Ukraine's Supreme Court Has Blocked the Demolition of the OCU Chapel in Lviv

The Supreme Court put an end to the protracted dispute between the Lviv City Hall and the OCU religious community by definitively rejecting the city authorities’ demand to dismantle the chapel. The ruling was issued on September 8, 2026.

According to and the case files, the Lviv City Council sought to reclaim a 0.0043-hectare plot of land, claiming that the chapel had been erected without authorization and that its structure was located within a pipeline protection zone. City authorities demanded the complete dismantling of the structure, but the courts consistently rejected these claims.

The courts determined that the OCU religious community is not the owner of the structure but merely uses it on the basis of a transfer agreement concluded back in 2020. The Supreme Court upheld the lower courts’ findings that the fact of unauthorized land seizure by this particular religious organization had not been proven. As a result, the cassation appeal filed by Lviv officials was dismissed, and all court fees were ordered to be paid by the city council.

It is worth noting that, at the same time, the Ukrainian Catholic University, in collaboration with the Lviv City Administration and the holding company “EKO-DOM,” plans to build a new educational center in Lviv. The “UCU Cooperation Center” is intended to be a place for meetings, dialogue, and joint activities for veterans, internally displaced persons, representatives of small and medium-sized businesses, educators, volunteer and charitable organizations, other public sector organizations, administrators, and community leaders.