SBU and police conduct searches at Pochaiv Lavra

Photo: the Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra – the largest monastery of the UOC in Ternopil region. Source: tepravda

On October 8, 2025, officers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the police conducted searches on the territory of the Pochaiv Lavra in Ternopil region, according to Ternopilska Pravda, which cited sources in law enforcement agencies.

According to media reports, investigative actions took place in the Church of All Saints, located in the cemetery near the Lavra. Law enforcement officers were allegedly searching for documents that might concern the supposed “unlawful registration” of the church building, which has the status of an architectural monument.

Investigators claim that in 2018, clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church may have registered ownership of the church in violation of the law, allegedly having taken possession of the architectural monument “through fraudulent means.”

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the SBU disclosed how many UOC clerics had received sentences during the two years of war.

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