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.
Read also
Hierarch of Jerusalem: The authorities' lawsuits against the UOC are an attempt to abolish the Church itself
Archbishop of Sebastia Theodosius Called the Authorities' Lawsuits Against the UOC a Campaign Against the Existence of the Denomination
Elensky: We are inspecting Pochaiv Lavra due to a large number of appeals
In the event that the Pochaiv Lavra's ties with the Russian Orthodox Church are confirmed, officials will issue demands to the monastery, granting 30 days for their fulfillment.
In Nigeria, the first monument to Christians killed by Islamists has been unveiled
Missionaries carved in stone the names of 270 martyrs who became victims of last year's bloody massacre in Yelvate.
Delegation of the AUCCRO Discussed Ukraine's European Integration with MEPs
Religious leaders of Ukraine discussed the challenges of wartime and countering the ideology of the "Russian world" in the European Parliament.
Danish authorities raise alarm over “creeping Islamization”
The Danish Minister of Immigration has announced the intention to ban the Islamic call to prayer.
In Odesa, believers urged not to write memorial notes for living TRC officers
Parishioners were reminded that, according to Church tradition, submitting memorial notes for the repose of living people is believed to bring illness and misfortune upon them.