In Odessa, the Court of Appeals upheld the UOC community's right to ownership of the church

On September 17, 2026, the Southwestern Economic Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Odessa Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, definitively rejecting the prosecutor’s office’s attempts to seize the church building dedicated to the Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign.” According to (SPZ), the court upheld the May 6, 2025, verdict of the Odessa Regional Commercial Court, denying the prosecutor’s office’s appeal.

The essence of the dispute lay in the prosecutor’s office’s demand—acting on behalf of the Ministry of Education and Science and the State Property Fund of Ukraine—to seize the church building through a replevin action. However, the panel of judges determined that the method of legal action chosen by the prosecutors was legally unfounded: a replevin action is applicable only in the absence of a contractual relationship between the parties, whereas in this case, an investment agreement dating from 2007 was in effect between the parish and the state agencies.

According to the case file, the church was built primarily with funds from the faithful, whose contribution accounted for 84.9% of the total construction cost. The court also took into account the fact that the congregation had continuously and lawfully used the building for religious services since 2009, during which time government agencies had not raised any objections regarding the facility’s operation.

Attempts to seize the church—which the prosecutor’s office sought to portray as a property subject to transfer to the Odessa Institute of Finance—had been ongoing since 2024. The current decision by the appellate court serves as yet another confirmation of the legitimacy of the religious community’s actions in this protracted dispute.

As a reminder, on June 23, 2026, in Odessa, representatives of the OCU, with the support of private security forces, seized the church dedicated to St. Alexander Nevsky. The seizure of the church was led by the so-called OCU chaplain, Theodore Orobets.