Court prohibits UOC from using the cathedral land in Ternopil

UOC Cathedral in honor of the martyrs Vera, Nadezhda, Liubov, and their mother Sophia in Ternopil. Photo: wikipedia.org

In Ternopil, the Western Court of Appeal overturned the decision of the Economic Court and deprived the UOC community of the right to use the land plot under the cathedral in honor of the martyrs Vera, Nadezhda, Liubov, and their mother Sophia, reports the Ternopoliany publication.

The appellate court's decision deprives the religious community of the ability to use the UOC cathedral building in Ternopil.

In April 2023, the Ternopil City Council stripped the UOC of the right to use the land under the cathedral on the grounds that "Ukraine is currently at war, and it is surprising that such cells of the Russian FSB are still operating in Western Ukraine."

The UOC community filed a lawsuit against the city council because of this decree, and in December 2023, the judge of the Economic Court returned half a hectare of land under the church in Ternopil to the UOC.

However, the appellate court made a new decision.

"The claim of the Ternopil Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church against the Ternopil City Council to invalidate the decision of the extraordinary twenty-fourth session of the Ternopil City Council No. 8/p24/02 dated 17.04.2023 'On the termination of the right of permanent use of the land plot at 1 Yevhen Konovalets Street for the Ternopil Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church' is completely denied," the decision reads.

Moreover, the Ternopil Diocese of the UOC now has to reimburse the court costs of 4,542.00 UAH, which the city council paid. The decision of the appellate court can be appealed in the Supreme Court.

As the UOJ reported, in April 2023, 40 out of 40 deputies present at the Ternopil City Council session voted to strip the UOC of the land under the cathedral.

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