The court refused the Ministry of Culture to postpone the transfer of St. Nicholas Church and established control over the implementation of the decision

A court in Kiev has rejected a request by the Ukrainian Culture Ministry to postpone the implementation of the decision to transfer the famous St. Nicholas church to the Roman Catholic community. Moreover, the court decided to establish control over the implementation of its own ruling, obliging the ministry to submit a report on the status of its implementation. Thus, the decision to hand over the temple, which the community has been waiting for more than thirty years, remains in force and is subject to immediate execution.

According to RISU, citing information from the Roman Catholic Parish of St. Nicholas in Kiev, the court not only rejected the Ministry of Culture’s request to postpone the deadline, but also obliged the ministry to report on the status of implementation of the decision. This means that the court ruling obliging the state to hand over the architectural monument to the religious community remains unchallenged and must be implemented without further delay.

The history of the transfer of St. Nicholas Church goes back almost two decades. The decision to return it to the Catholic community was made back in 2005, but the Ministry of Culture has not yet taken the necessary steps to fulfill it. This forced the parish community to appeal to the court, which on January 24, 2025 obliged the Ministry of Culture to hand over the temple. However, as the parish notes, as of today, the community does not even have a decision to open enforcement proceedings from the Ministry of Justice.

The rector of the parish, Pavel Vyshkovsky, commented on the situation, saying, «This is a political decision, and we know very well who in the Office of the President is blocking it. We will not allow any manipulation, no money laundering, no abuse of our temple! The authorities must fulfill the court decision!». He emphasized the determination of the community to defend their rights and demand strict compliance with the court verdict.

Earlier, MP Igor Guz called on the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) to take immediate measures to terminate the 50-year lease agreements for the Zimnensky and Nizkinich monasteries in Volyn, concluded with the monastic communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The MP also demanded an inspection of the former head of the Volyn regional state administration, Yuriy Pohulyayko, under whom these agreements were signed.