Сourt confirms illegal re-registration of UOC community in Vapniarka to OCU

The Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the court of first instance in the case of illegal re-registration of the UOC community to the OCU. Photo: yarden-claim.nl

On June 22, 2020, the North-West Economic Court of Appeal of Rivne ruled in favour of the St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called community of the UOC of the urban-type settlement Vapniarka of the Tomashpil district, Vinnytsia region, which the Volyn Regional State Administration illegally re-registered to the OCU in 2019, reports the press service of the Mohyliv-Podilskyi Eparchy of the UOC.

Having dismissed the appeals of the Office for Nationalities and Religions of the Vinnytsia Regional State Administration and the religious organization “St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called religious community of the urban-type settlement Vapniarka of the Tomashpil district of the OCU", the Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the court of first instance.

Thus, the Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Economic Court of the Vinnytsia Region dated January 21, 2020, which recognized the order of the head of the Office for Nationalities and Religions of the Vinnytsia RSA Igor Saletsky on the re-registration of the religious community of the UOC to the OCU as illegal and also confirmed the illegality of state registration, which amended the information on the religious community in the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organizations of Ukraine.

As reported, OCU activists seized the temple of the canonical Church in Vapniarka in March 2019, having cut down church locks in the presence of the police. Subsequently, the head of the Office for Nationalities and Religions of the Vinnytsia RSA Igor Saletsky carried out the illegal re-registration of the Vapniarka community of the UOC to the OCU. After the appeal of the Vinnytsia Eparchy of the UOC, the investigating authorities opened criminal proceedings for arbitrariness against Saletsky, having seized registration and constituent documents related to the re-registration of communities. With the appointment of the new head of the Vinnytsa RSA, who was introduced on June 19, 2020, the UOC expects a staff replacement for Saletsky.

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