Trial in case of expropriation of Vladimir-Volyn Cathedral of UOC postponed

On January 28, 2025, the Northwestern Court of Appeal of Rivne held a regular hearing in the case of the possible eviction of the Administration of the Volodymyr-Volyn Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the complex of premises of the Holy Dormition Cathedral of Volodymyr-Volynskyi, which also houses the diocesan administration and theological school. As a result, the court hearing was postponed. This was reported by the regional publication Bug.

It is reported that the chief specialist legal adviser of the Legal Department of the Volyn Regional State Administration, Oleksandr Garnola, insisted that the Volodymyr-Volyn Diocese of the UOC and the Regional State Administration concluded a free use agreement, which expired on July 1, 2024. Therefore, representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate are currently occupying the premises illegally.

In turn, the lawyer of the Volodymyr-Volyn Diocese of the UOC, Kateryna Pegza, stated that the agreement between the diocese and the regional administration was terminated unilaterally and in violation of the law, which prohibits the implementation of such procedures during martial law.

Having heard the arguments of both parties to the conflict, the court decided to postpone the hearing to 10:00 a.m. on March 11, 2025.

As a reminder, recently, Ukrainian MP Ihor Huz threatened the Volodymyr-Volyn Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with the “Cherkasy scenario” if the Church refuses to voluntarily leave the premises of the Holy Dormition Cathedral in Volodymyr-Volynskyi. Guz believes that the diocese’s attempts to defend its interests in the courts are a “delay in time,” and that it will not be difficult for him to take the cathedral by force.