Court hearing on banning UOC Kyiv Metropolis postponed for six weeks

UOC believers outside the courthouse. Photo: TG channel “Fortetsia Lavra”

On October 30, the Sixth Court of Appeal in Kyiv held a hearing on the State Ethnopolitics Service’s lawsuit seeking to terminate the activities of the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). The session lasted about five and a half hours, including a break.

According to the Metropolis’s lawyer, Archpriest Mykyta Chekman, the court granted motions from the UOC to demand all documents that served as the basis for the State Ethnopolitics Service’s research and orders.

“The agency failed to provide all documents, including a memorandum they classified as ‘For Official Use Only’ after receiving our request. The court therefore upheld our motion,” said Fr. Mykyta.

He also noted that over a thousand believers had already filed petitions to join the case as third parties, with another 300 applications pending in the court office.

“Because there are so many of them, we were unable to review all materials and requested a postponement. All these matters – the inclusion of believers, diocesan administrations, and monasteries – will be addressed at the next hearing, once all sides have access to the documents,” the priest explained.

During the session, the judge read a list of applicants from a document labeled Ukhvala (“Court ruling”). The defense pointed out that this term usually denotes a finalized decision.

“So, has the decision already been made? Why are we here then?” the lawyer asked. The judge replied that it was only a “draft,” but declined to show the document’s title to the defense.

Because both sides needed time to review a large volume of materials, the court postponed the hearing for six weeks.

The next session is scheduled for December 11, 2025, at 10:00 a.m.

Throughout the hearing, hundreds of UOC faithful prayed outside the courthouse.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that a court hearing on the possible ban of the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC was scheduled for October 30.

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