OCU withdraws claim to evict UOC cleric’s family from their home in Volyn

UOC church in honor of the Martyrs Faith, Hope, Love, and their mother Sophia in the village of Rakiv Lis. Photo: pravoslavna.volyn

Representatives of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) in the village of Rakiv Lis, Volyn region, have withdrawn a lawsuit seeking to evict UOC priest of the Volyn Eparchy Archpriest Rostyslav Sizhuk and his minor children from the house where they reside. This was reported on the website of the Volyn Eparchy.

The decision to close the case was issued by the Kamin-Kashyrskyi District Court of Volyn Oblast on April 8, 2025.

The same court had previously ruled in August 2023 to evict the priest and his children. The Volyn Court of Appeal upheld that decision. In July 2024, the Supreme Court of Ukraine overturned the lower court rulings and sent the case back for a new hearing.

During the new proceedings in the Kamin-Kashyrskyi District Court, the OCU community of Rakiv Lis initially modified the claim and later withdrew it entirely.

As previously reported by the UOJ, the UOC community in Rakiv Lis was among the first in the region to be unlawfully re-registered under the OCU and lost access to their church. Later, UOC believers, together with Archpriest Rostyslav Sizhuk, built a new church in just seven months. On September 14, 2021, Archbishop Nathaniel of Volyn and Lutsk consecrated the new church in honor of the Martyrs Faith, Hope, Love, and their mother Sophia in the village of Rakiv Lis.

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