In the Cherkasy region, the prosecutor's office initiated the seizure of a Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) church and its transfer to state ownership

The Zvenigorod District Prosecutor’s Office of the Cherkasy Region filed a lawsuit demanding that the St. Demetrius Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, located in the village of Zaliznyachka, be transferred to state ownership. The complaint was filed with the Cherkasy District Administrative Court without prior notification of the congregation or local government authorities.

According to the supervisory authority’s position, the transfer of the church, built in 1773, is necessary due to an alleged threat of its uncontrolled use and destruction. However, the agency does not specify to whom exactly the building is planned to be transferred after its seizure. The parishioners themselves learned of the prosecutor’s office’s intentions from public sources on the internet.

The faithful emphasize that they received the keys to the church from the local village council back in the 1990s, when the architectural monument was in a critical, dilapidated condition. Over the following decades, the UOC community carried out extensive restoration and maintenance work on the shrine using its own resources and funds.

As a reminder, we previously reported that the Kharkiv City Council, during an extraordinary session, decided to terminate the land lease agreement with the Kharkiv Diocese of the UOC. The city reclaimed more than 3 hectares of land, including Cathedral Square, a plot with an energy facility, and the area where the diocesan building is located.