Ternopil region official tried for transferring land to Pochaiv Lavra

The Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra at sunset, Ternopil region. Photo: zaxid.net

On August 12, 2025, the Shumsk District Court fined Roman Pylypchuk, head of the State Registration Department of the Shumsk City Council, 68,000 UAH for what the prosecution considered the illegal registration of property on the grounds of the Pochaiv Lavra in favor of a UOC monastery, reports Zaxid.net.

According to court materials, in November 2017, Pylypchuk was appointed as the state registrar of the Shumsk City Council, and four years later, he headed the State Registration Department.

In October 2021, he received an application from representatives of the Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra for the registration of the Chapel of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary with an area of 9.2 sq. m. The official entered it into the register under the legal entity "Pochaiv Holy Dormition Lavra of the UOC Eparchy." In December of the same year, he registered three more utility buildings for the monastery with areas of 156, 979, and 184 sq. m.

In court, Pylypchuk did not admit guilt, claiming that the documents presented were sufficient for registration. However, the court found him guilty, imposing a fine of 68 thousand UAH, five years of imprisonment, and a three-year ban on holding positions with administrative and economic functions. The main punishment was replaced with a probation period of 2.5 years.

Earlier, the Ternopil Regional Prosecutor's Office reported plans to file a lawsuit for the confiscation in favor of the state of 12 hectares of land on which the complex of the Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra of the UOC is located, considering the transfer of the plot to the monastery illegal.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that a priest refuted fake news about the sale of holy water in the Pochaiv Lavra.

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