A Member of Parliament is calling for an investigation into the Zimnensky Monastery of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to determine whether it has ties to the Russian Orthodox Church

Ihor Guz, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament, has issued an official demand for a thorough investigation of the Stavropegial Holy Dormition Zimne Convent of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, located in the Volyn Oblast. The lawmaker insists on an investigation into the monastery’s possible ties to the Russian Orthodox Church and Viktor Medvedchuk, and also demands an assessment of the financial and property-related aspects of the monastery’s activities, according to the publication BUG.

According to Igor Guz, the request for an investigation, signed by a group of more than 15 members of parliament, was sent to the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (GESS) two months ago, but has yet to yield any results. The lawmaker emphasized that the monastery has historically been associated with Viktor Medvedchuk and his family, who, according to the lawmaker, have actively invested in the complex’s infrastructure, including the construction of a helipad and a hotel and restaurant complex.

Ihor Guz insists on the use of legal mechanisms to halt the activities of entities linked to the aggressor country. As an example of successful practice, he cited recent Supreme Court rulings regarding properties in the Rivne and Ternopil regions, where it was decided to evict religious communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from church buildings and monasteries owned by the state. The deputy called on the relevant ministries and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to expedite the investigation and, if evidence of cooperation with Russia is confirmed, to initiate legal proceedings to revoke the state registration of the institution in question.

As a reminder, the Supreme Court of Ukraine previously put an end to a long-standing dispute by definitively rejecting the cassation appeal filed by the Holy Epiphany Convent of the Ternopil Diocese of the UOC.