The court has finally confirmed the re-registration of the Holy Trinity community of the UOC in Kremenchug in favor of the OCU

On December 9, the Eastern Economic Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of the hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Mykola of Kremenchuk and Lubny, in the case of re-registration of the Holy Trinity religious community of the UOC of Kremenchuk to the OCU. This is reported by Kremenchutska Gazeta.

Metropolitan Mykolai’s lawsuit was directed against the Religious Organization “Stavropegial Religious Community of the Holy Trinity Parish of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Orthodox Church of Ukraine) in Kremenchuk, Kremenchuk district, Poltava region”. The bishop demanded that the minutes of the Parish General Meeting No. 1 of July 14, 2024, as well as the new version of the Charter of the religious organization, registered by the order of the head of the Poltava Regional Military Administration of September 5, 2024, No. 547, be invalidated.

Metropolitan Mykolai argued that the decision to change the canonical subordination was made in violation of current legislation, by persons who had no right to do so. He also pointed out that he and other active members were not informed about the meeting and did not participate in it, stating that in fact a meeting of the territorial community of Kremenchuk, not the religious one, was held, and the decision was made in violation of the quorum.

As reported, on June 4, 2024, the Economic Court of the Poltava Region had already rejected the plaintiff’s claims, which was the basis for the UOC’s appeal. However, yesterday, as lawyer Ruslan Lazorenko told the Kremenchuk Gazeta, the Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the first instance, leaving the appeal unfulfilled and the decision of the Economic Court of Poltava Region unchanged. A cassation appeal may still be filed against this decision.

At the same time, a deputy of the Kremenchuk City Council, Bohdan Lazorenko, congratulated the OCU on the victory in court on his Facebook page: “The panel of judges, headed personally by the chairman of the court, demanded a number of original documents, scrutinized the evidence and arguments of the parties. There were many uncomfortable questions. The plaintiffs resorted to the usual tactics of creating artificial evidence: “fake” protocols and regulations. They made up stories about the “fixed membership” of parishioners. They tried to delay the case. There were also challenges to judges from the panel.” According to him, the court session, which lasted more than four hours, ended with a “victory for the side of light,” and now no one has the right to question the spiritual will of the community.

Serhiy Kaptan, a well-known entrepreneur and volunteer in the city, also called the OCU’s victory in court “great news.” Kremenchuk City Council member Larysa Horislavets emphasized: “I believed in success, and by my faith it happened. In fact, I congratulate everyone who defended the community’s choice to join the OCU. Especially now, during the war, there are no other options but either to be on the side of the ROC or with the OCU.”

As reported, on September 15, 2025, the Kyiv Economic Court confirmed the legality of the re-registration of the Holy Dormition religious community of the UOC of Kremenchuk in favor of the OCU. In addition, as a consequence, the Holy Dormition Cathedral, which was previously used by the community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, is also transferred to the OCU.