Historic Churches of Chernihiv Region Transferred to Regional Authorities

Seven churches in the Chernihiv region, recognized as architectural monuments of national and local importance, have changed ownership. They no longer belong to territorial communities — instead, they’ve been transferred to the Department of Urban Development and Architecture of the Chernihiv Regional State Administration. The relevant decision was made by the regional council, according to local media.

Among the transferred churches are unique landmarks, including:

St. George’s Church (Yuryeva Bozhnytsia) in Oster (12th century),

Resurrection Church with bell tower in Sedniv (1690),

Dormition Church in Vyshenky (18th century),

Transfiguration Church in Rayhorodok (1820),

Church of Alexander Nevsky in Perelyub (1826),

St. Nicholas Church in Rybotyn (1904),

Ascension Church in Kozelets (1874).

The most valuable in terms of balance sheet value is the church in Perelyub — over 136 million UAH.

The transfer is officially explained by the hope of attracting state funding for preservation. However, local communities express concern that, without proper oversight, these sacred buildings — like many other state-managed heritage sites — may fall into neglect and decay.

Earlier, it was reported that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s Church of St. Paraskeva in the village of Chaikyne, Chernihiv region, built with funding from Ukraine’s second president Leonid Kuchma, is being considered for transfer to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). According to the head of the Novhorod-Siverskyi territorial community, to which Chaikyne belongs, the church is currently considered «ownerless,» and the idea of its transfer to the OCU was personally proposed by Kuchma.