The Northern Economic Court of Appeal in Kiev has postponed consideration of the case of the eviction of monks of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the Kiev Pechersk Lavra indefinitely due to the recusal of one of the members of the panel of judges, lawyer Nikita Chekman, representing the interests of the lavra, said on Monday.
"Today, the Northern Economic Court of Appeal held a regular court hearing on the use of the Lower Lavra. One of the members of the panel of judges was challenged by the monastery's lawyers due to his biased position towards the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, during which the judge recused himself," Chekman wrote on his Telegram channel.
According to the lawyer, an auto-distribution will be carried out and a new composition of the court will be determined. The date and time of the court session will be announced later.
A new round of conflict around the Kiev Pechersk Lavra began with the notification of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine about the termination of the lease agreement of the monastery unilaterally. The monks were asked to leave the monastery on March 29, 2023. The UOC called the unilateral termination of the agreement illegal and sued. The trial continues. Nevertheless, the state, represented by the Kiev Pechersk Lavra National Reserve, has taken away many monastery buildings from the monks, banned the UOC clergy from serving in the largest churches of the lavra, and is also going to "audit" the relics of saints that have been in the lavra caves for centuries.
The Ukrainian authorities have organized the largest wave of persecution of the canonical UOC in the country's recent history, the largest community of believers in the country. Referring to its connection with Russia, local authorities in different regions of Ukraine have decided to ban the activities of the UOC. The SBU began to open criminal cases against the clergy of the UOC, to conduct "counterintelligence activities": searches of bishops and priests, churches and monasteries in search of evidence of "anti-Ukrainian activities." Ukrainian courts have convicted some members of the clergy, and many are under arrest.
Hundreds of Orthodox churches of the UOC were forcibly seized by Ukrainian schismatics with the support of local authorities, while priests and lay people, men and women, are subjected to physical violence. On September 23, 2024, a law passed by the Verkhovna Rada and signed by Vladimir Zelensky came into force in the country, allowing the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church to be banned.
According to TASS materials