In Ternopil region, UOC priests accused of “stealing icons” from St. Nicholas Cathedral in Kremenets, seized by the state

Clerics of St. Nicholas Cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Kremenets (Ternopil region), which was expropriated by the state and transferred to the control of the OCU, are accused of stealing icons. According to local media, a court hearing has been announced in Ternopil in this regard, which is to be held in the near future. This is reported by the regional website TeNews.

“In December 2023, when the cathedral was finally returned to full state control and not only to the formal balance holder, which is the Kremenets-Pochayiv State Historical and Architectural Reserve, whose commission discovered the loss during the inventory. Nineteenth-century icons and kivots, church chalices, old prints – all this is estimated to be worth more than one million hryvnias! As can be seen from the results of the pre-trial investigation, law enforcement agencies managed to find some of the stolen historical property, which is worth more than 300 thousand hryvnias,” – the statement said.

According to media reports, the investigation into this matter lasted for a year. In June 2025, according to media reports, a court hearing on this matter is to be held in Ternopil.

“Already in early 2024, when a prayer in Ukrainian was first said in the cathedral, Kremenets law enforcement officers identified the clerics involved in the disappearance of the icons and registered the relevant criminal proceedings. The evidence gathered during the investigation was used to serve suspicion notices to three UOC clergymen, and the proceedings were sent to court with an indictment. In June 2025, the case will be considered in court,” – the media added.