Court of Appeal Transfers UOC’s St. Basil Monastery Complex in Ovruch to State Ownership

On May 15, 2025, the Rivne North-Western Commercial Court of Appeal ruled to transfer the complex of buildings of the St. Basil’s Convent in Ovruch to state ownership. This decision annulled the private ownership rights to a national architectural monument that had been used by a religious community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) for over 19 years. The report comes from Suspilne Zhytomyr.

According to Anatoliy Chyzhevskyi, legal adviser to the mayor of Ovruch, in 2006 the city council’s executive committee adopted a decision that allowed for the registration of private ownership of the monastery. However, current authorities view that decision as unlawful, since it concerns a site of cultural heritage, which cannot be held in private ownership.

“We submitted a request to the prosecutor’s office. In February, the Commercial Court of Zhytomyr Region cancelled the private ownership, but that ruling was appealed. Now the appellate court has confirmed the transfer of the monastery complex to state ownership,” Chyzhevskyi said.

He noted that the next step is the official state registration of ownership. After that, the regional military administration, with the approval of the Ministry of Culture, will sign a protective agreement and decide on the future use of the site.

Meanwhile, Metropolitan Vissarion of Ovruch and Korosten stated that the court’s decision is unlawful and contradicts the principle of church-state separation.

“The monastery has existed here for over a century. It was established by the Holy Synod and belongs to the Church. Taking the church away is an act of raiding. If the Church is separate from the State, then the State has no right to interfere in Church property,” emphasized Metropolitan Vissarion.

It is also worth noting that in the town of Zastavna in Bukovina, another violent seizure of a Ukrainian Orthodox Church parish recently occurred. A group of OCU activists broke through the fence and stormed the grounds of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos Church, forcibly expelling parishioners.