Ternopil Regional Council initiates inspection of UOC monasteries for “links to a banned organization”

The Ternopil Regional Council has appealed to the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, requesting an inspection of several monasteries of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church for alleged “affiliation with the Russian Orthodox Church.” The corresponding decision was adopted on July 23 and supported by 47 deputies. Oversight of the initiative was assigned to the relevant council commission. The information was published on the Ternopolyany website.

According to the resolution, the matter concerns religious institutions “connected to the Moscow Patriarchate.”

The following religious sites are listed for inspection:

The Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra,

The Holy Spirit Monastery of the Ternopil Diocese of the UOC,

The Theophany Convent of the Ternopil Diocese of the UOC.

It is also worth recalling that the Ternopil Regional Prosecutor’s Office previously launched an investigation aimed at expropriating a 12-hectare land plot on which the Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is located. Prosecutors claim that the land was unlawfully transferred to the monastery, and legal action is expected to follow soon.