The UGCC sold a historic church in Chicago well below its appraised value

The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) has sold the historic building of St. Michael’s Church in Chicago (Illinois, USA) together with the land plot for 175 thousand dollars. As SPJ reports, this church, which is a significant spiritual and artistic value, was alienated at a price that, according to preliminary estimates, is significantly lower than the value of only some of its elements, such as unique stained glass windows.

According to the report, the sale took place on October 20, 2025. The temple, located at 12211 S. Parnell Ave, Chicago, IL 60628, had more than a century of history, with construction beginning 107 years ago. The loss of this facility means for the Ukrainian community the loss of not only real estate and land, but also a significant cultural and spiritual heritage.

Of particular value was the unique gilded painting by Mykhailo Dmytrenko, a famous Ukrainian diaspora artist, as well as about two dozen unique stained glass windows, presumably of Italian manufacture. According to a rough estimate of one of the brokers, the total cost of these stained glass windows alone could be from 200 to 250 thousand euros, which significantly exceeds the total sale amount of the entire temple.

“All this is lost to the Ukrainian community,” – states the author of the post in the Telegram-channel. The reasons for such an unprofitable, at first glance, the transaction is not specified. Official reports on the sale from the UGCC has not yet been received.

Earlier we reported that 9.4 million hryvnias will be allocated from the budget of Lviv region for the restoration of the UGCC church. We are talking about the wooden church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit in the village of Verkhnyaya Rozhanka, Slavsky district, Lviv region. At the same time, according to media reports, a corruption component was revealed in the process, as the prices for restoration materials were significantly inflated.