UOC parish in Chernivtsi fined for not vacating church

UOC Church-Chapel in Honor of Saint Panteleimon the Healer in Chernivtsi. Photo: suspilne.media/chernivtsi

In Chernivtsi, the religious community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in honor of Saint Great-Martyr Panteleimon was fined for not vacating the premises after the lease agreement for the building expired. However, as Father Georgiy Aronenko, the head of the parish, explained in a comment to Suspilne, the community considers the decision to terminate the lease unlawful and is contesting it in court.

In response to an inquiry from the publication, the city council stated that the fine for the untimely return of the property has been accruing since December 1, 2021, amounting to over 140,000 UAH in total.

The lease agreement for the building was concluded on August 20, 2021, between the management of the municipal property of the city council and the UOC parish. According to the response to the inquiry, the agreement was valid from August 20, 2021, until the approval of the Regulation on the Lease of Property Owned by the Municipal Property of the Chernivtsi Community, but no later than July 31, 2022. On April 27, 2023, during a city council session, deputies approved the decision to terminate the lease.

At the same time, according to a resolution by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the agreement is considered extended for the duration of the martial law and for four months from the date of termination or cancellation of martial law, journalists remind.

Therefore, the religious organization filed a lawsuit against the city council to have the agreement recognized as extended. According to the publication, the courts confirmed that the agreement ceased to be in effect on November 30, 2021 (i.e., the date of approval of the Regulation on the Lease of Property Owned by the Municipal Property of the Chernivtsi Community).

In turn, Father Georgiy Aronenko, the rector of the church, states that legal proceedings are ongoing and the religious organization will act within the law.

“We will resolve everything through the courts, within the framework of the legislation. We plan to appeal the decision. For now, we ask that the premises be used carefully while the legal proceedings continue, with mutual respect,” says the priest.

Earlier, the head of the church emphasized in a comment to "Suspilne" that he considers the termination of the lease agreement with the religious community an incorrect decision because the church was built with donations from parishioners and the lease could not be terminated until the end of the martial law.

As previously reported by the UOJ, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) held its first "service" in a church taken from a Romanian-speaking UOC parish.

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