Land Allocated in Odesa for OCU Cathedral

The Odesa City Council has granted permission to develop a land management project for the construction of a cathedral of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). The land plot is located in the Cosmonauts’ Square, where the current Holy Trinity Church of the OCU stands. According to Odesa city council member Zhanna Mandrychenko, the idea of building the cathedral dates back to the year 2000. However, the project had seen little to no progress until recently. This was reported by “Suspilne Odesa.”

The implementation of the project was reportedly hindered for many years by legal complications: the building was under arrest, and the land plot had not been formally registered. Only recently did the deputies approve its official allocation.

Additionally, Theodor Orobets, secretary of the Odesa diocese of the OCU, stated on air during “Ukrainian Radio. Odesa” that most of the city’s historic churches, especially in the center, are allegedly “occupied by the Moscow Patriarchate”:

“Odesa, thank God, has churches. But it so happened that all of these churches, especially the historic ones in the center, are occupied by the Moscow Patriarchate… We are fighting to win the right to pray in the churches our forefathers built.”

It was also reported earlier that in Odesa, a legal battle continues over a building that was converted into an Orthodox church 18 years ago and transferred to the local diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The Malynivskyi District Prosecutor’s Office is attempting to return the building to state ownership, claiming the reconstruction and transfer took place in violation of the law.