Court decides on Upper Lavra in the absence of monastery's lawyers

The Dormition Cathedral and the Refectory Church of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Photo: 24tv.ua

On June 13, 2023, the Economic Court of Kyiv refused to satisfy the claim of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (a monastery of the UOC) against the National Preserve with the same name, regarding the removal of obstacles to the use of the temples of the Upper Lavra – the Dormition Cathedral and the Sts Anthony and Theodosius’ Church with the Refectory Chamber, reports the monastery's lawyer, Fr Nikita Chekman, on his Telegram channel.

He noted that the court made the decision in the absence of the Lavra's defenders, rejecting their request to postpone the hearing for objective reasons.

"The representatives of the monastery submitted petitions to postpone the court hearing due to their involvement in other procedural actions that objectively made it impossible to participate in the hearing. The court rejected these petitions and decided to hold the first hearing on the merits of the case without the presence of the monastery's representatives and immediately issued a decision. Thus, the court did not even give the plaintiff a chance to present their explanations, to ask questions to the defendant, to participate in debates and convey their legal position to both the court and the public," the lawyer said.

Fr Nikita emphasized that the court had all the grounds to postpone the hearing, and the decision taken "demonstrates the manifestation of administrative pressure on the court in the context of statements made by the Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine regarding the government's expectations of court decisions on the return of the Lavra to the state".

According to the lawyer, the monastery will definitely file an appeal against the decision of the Economic Court "with the aim of achieving justice and restoring the violated rights of the parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church".

As reported, in early January 2023, the Minister of Culture, Oleksandr Tkachenko, announced that the UOC monastery was deprived of the right to use the Dormition Cathedral and the Refectory Church.

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