Court handled a case on church seizure in Konstantinovka in presence of UOC KP lawyer

On May 11 the Commercial Court of Donetsk region held another eighth court session regarding the case of illegal seizure of the UOC Candlemas church in Konstantinovka by the UOC KP representatives. This time a lawyer from the Kiev Patriarchate was present at the hearing, as is reported by the press-service of the diocese.

The court session went on with the proceeding on unlawful amendments to the protocol of the parish council of the Candlemas church. The KP lawyer defended the legitimacy of these amendments.   

Due to the fact the decision on the matter in question is time-consuming, the court took a break in the trial of this matter until 16 May 2016. It is precisely the date of the next court session. 

It is to be recalled that on 14 October 2015 representatives of the “Kiev Patriarchate” undertook raiding of the church under construction in the honor of Meeting of Our Lord Jesus Christ, located in Konstantinovka city, Donetsk region. Gorlovka diocesan administration appealed to the court in order to settle the matter related to the illegal seizure in a legitimate way, according to the legislation of Ukraine. In particular, Gorlovka diocese of the UOC seeks for the reversal of the decision on transition of the church to the jurisdiction of the Kiev Patriarchate, which was approved after the administration composition of the parish had been changed.

The counsel of the Kiev Patriarchate did not attend a number of previous court sessions, therefore the court had to postpone the proceeding. 

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