Culture Ministry takes away 3 UOC cathedrals for “restoration” in Chernihiv

Parishioners of the Transfiguration Cathedral of the UOC at the closed shrine. Photo: suspilne.media

The Commission of the Ministry of Culture for the transfer of state property, without waiting for a court decision, closed the Trinity, Transfiguration and Dormition Cathedrals in Chernihiv, which were under the UOC's jurisdiction, under the pretext of "urgent inspection and restoration", as reported by suspilne.media.

The commission is led by the director of the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture, Marianna Tomin, who previously supervised the sealing of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra premises.

After armed people in military uniform blocked the cathedrals in Chernihiv on the morning of October 5, representatives of the ministry inspected the shrines and claimed that their condition was unsatisfactory, requiring urgent conservation, detailed examination and restoration of the churches.

"There can be no church services because specialists will be working," said Marianna Tomin.

She suggested that the clergy of the UOC should pick up their belongings from the cathedrals that do not belong to the museum fund.

Oleksandr Shamko, the lawyer for the Chernihiv Eparchy of the UOC, believes that the actions of the Ministry of Culture and its local structure, the National Reserve "Chernihiv Ancient" are illegal.

"Without waiting for a court decision, they carried out sealing and lock replacement by force," the lawyer noted.

According to him, the eparchy had been requesting the Reserve for permission for restoration work for two years, including the repair of the Transfiguration Cathedral, but the museum staff either directly refused or did not provide any response at all.

In addition to the UOC's cathedrals, officials also decided to renovate the damaged Pyatnytsky Church, used by the OCU, and the inactive St. Iliya's Church with Anthony's Caves. Representatives of the Ministry of Culture promise to inspect all 26 architectural monuments that belong to the property complex of the Reserve. However, the ministry does not hide that the real goal of the commission led by Marianna Tomin is to take away the churches from the UOC. The Ministry of Culture's press service directly refers to it as the "Commission for the transfer of state property" and states that "one of the tasks of the Commission for the transfer of state property is to transfer state immovable property of the National Architectural and Historical Reserve 'Chernihiv Ancient' from temporary users to state ownership".

As earlier reported, in February 2023, the "Chernihiv Ancient" Reserve declared the end of contracts for the use of architectural monuments – the Trinity Monastery with the UOC Cathedral, the Yeletsky Convent with the Dormition Cathedral and the Transfiguration Cathedral on its territory. The administration of the Reserve demanded that the Chernihiv Eparcht of the UOC vacate the shrines. The eparchy, citing the law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations", filed lawsuits in court, requesting that the contracts be recognized as valid.

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