Supreme Court recognises transition procedure of UOC parishes to OCU legal

The court sided with the OCU. Photo: zp.tax.gov.ua

On April 3, the Supreme Court of Ukraine considered the case of the Holy Protection religious community of the UOC in the village of Kalynivka, Zhytomyr region, where the UOC temple was transferred to supporters of the OCU in 2019, and deemed the procedure of this transition lawful, according to the Ukrainian Pravda.

In Kalynivka, the voting took place according to the standard scheme: the territorial community gathered, voted against the provisions of the Community Charter, and then the temple was forcibly transferred to the OCU. It was argued in court that some residents of the village of Kalynivka wanted to join the OCU, but this step was contested in court. The courts of first and appellate instances refused to satisfy the claim. The case was transferred to the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court.

"In general, the importance of this decision for the ongoing process since 2019 of the transition of religious communities of Ukraine from the UOC MP to the OCU cannot be overestimated, as it will become a precedent for all other similar disputes and will give confidence in the legality of such transition of religious communities that are still hesitant to make a decision to leave the UOC MP," the publication cites the words of the lawyer.

As reported by the Ukrainian Pravda, in March 2019, after an unsuccessful attempt to discuss the question of transition to the OCU at a general meeting of the village, the religious community of the Protection of the Holy Virgin Mary in Kalynivka unanimously supported the UOC.

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