Ministry of Culture appeals transfer of St. Nicholas Church in Kyiv to parish

The Ministry of Culture and the House of Organ Music have filed an appeal against the decision of the Dnipropetrovsk District Court, which ordered the transfer of St. Nicholas Church in Kyiv to the Roman Catholic parish. The appeal hearing will take place on May 28 in Dnipro. This was reported on the Facebook page of the Roman Catholic Parish of St. Nicholas in Kyiv.

In their complaints, the Ministry of Culture and the House of Organ Music claim that the parish has allegedly been using the church since 2022. However, the parish notes that since December 2024, it has been unable to obtain permission to repair the church after a missile attack due to the refusal of the current user — the House of Organ Music.

The parish priest Pavlo Vyshkovskyi, believes that the Ministry of Culture and the House of Organ Music are trying to delay the transfer of the church:
“We hoped for the prudence and integrity of the Ministry of Culture in implementing the court decision and recognizing our lawful position. … The fact that the court decision is being appealed only highlights the unlawfulness of delaying the transfer of the church.”

The parish insists that the right to use the church is supported by the court and over 25,000 signatures on a petition.

Recall that the Parish and Guardianship Councils of St. Nicholas Church in Kyiv published an open letter to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, asking him to intervene in the situation surrounding the long delay in transferring the church to the religious community. The authors of the appeal emphasize the inadmissibility of further delays and point to the prolonged inactivity of the Ministry of Culture.