Litigation continues in Volyn for the Cathedral of the Volodymyr-Volyn Diocese of the UOC

The Volyn regional administration continues to exert pressure on religious communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with the aim of further expropriation of their property. We are talking about the complex of premises of the Holy Dormition Cathedral in Volodymyr-Volynskyi, which also houses the diocesan administration and theological school, and the UOC Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Kamen-Kashyrskyi. On March 7, 2025, a regular meeting of the temporary control commission was held at the Volyn Regional State Administration, which was created to “monitor the implementation of its decisions to ban the activities of the UOC and prevent its communities from using religious buildings — architectural monuments.” This is reported by the regional publication “Pershyi”.

It is reported that officials of the regional administration, law enforcement officers and representatives of regulatory authorities joined the work of the commission. The issue of vacating the complex of buildings of the Holy Dormition Cathedral in Volodymyr is under special control. The lease agreement with the religious community expired in July 2023, but it is still using the monument.

According to Olga Chubara, head of the Department of Culture of the Regional State Administration, the trial of this case in the Northwestern Economic Court of Appeal has been postponed until March 11, 2025. She assured the members of the commission that immediately after the court decision, the regional administration will send a notice to the religious community about the departure of the commission for the reception and transfer of religious buildings.

In addition, litigation is also ongoing over the “removal of obstacles to the use” of another cultural heritage site of national importance, namely the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Kamen-Kashyrsky. Olha Chubara said that on February 11 this year, a lawyer of the OCU religious organization filed a lawsuit with the Kamen-Kashyrsky District Court to “remove obstacles to the exercise of the right to own and use property by vacating the church building and land plot,” but as of today, the case has not been scheduled for consideration.

“We can’t do anything about it. We need to wait for the decisions of the courts of various instances, I hope they will be positive, and then we will return to these issues and coordinate our actions,” — summarized the head of the temporary commission, Volodymyr Bondar.

Earlier, we reported that the Volodymyr-Volyn Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is being criticized for defending its rights in court, preventing the construction of the Holy Dormition Cathedral in Volodymyr-Volynskyi, which also houses the diocesan administration and theological school. Regional media joined in the harassment of the Church, spreading the same text stating that the Church was deliberately delaying the transfer of the church complex, defending itself against expropriation in the courts.