UOC files complaint over arbitrariness in Kuzmyn church seizure – lawyer

Outside the Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos in Kuzmyn, February 9, 2026. Photo: Khmelnytskyi Eparchy

On February 9, 2026, in the village of Kuzmyn, Khmelnytskyi region, unidentified persons carried out a forcible takeover of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos. As UOC attorney Archpriest Nykyta Chekman reported, the interests of the church rector, Archpriest Heorhii Sykaliuk, and the community will be defended in court.

According to the lawyer, unknown individuals broke the locks, unlawfully entered the church grounds, and in practice deprived the UOC religious community of the use of its place of worship. He emphasized that there is no court ruling of any kind that would authorize the seizure of the church, a change of lawful user, or the eviction of the community.

Despite an official demand to refrain from any registration actions until the dispute is heard in court, the Khmelnytskyi Regional Military Administration proceeded with a re-registration of the religious community, changing its name, its head, and its confessional affiliation.

“In the interests of the rector, Fr. Heorhii Sykaliuk, a motion for interim measures has been filed with the Commercial Court of Kyiv, requesting a ban on any registration actions concerning the community. Despite the filing, within just a few hours the state registrar entered changes into the Unified State Register, disregarding due judicial procedure and creating conditions for a further raider-style takeover of the church,” the lawyer noted.

Fr. Nykyta also reported that, in connection with these events, a criminal complaint has been filed under Article 356 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code (“self-help”).

As the UOJ reported, on the morning of February 9, representatives of the OCU cut the locks on the Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos and entered the building. The conflict surrounding the community has continued since December 2025, when the authorities organized a so-called “meeting” of outsiders to vote for a transfer to the OCU. At the time, UOC parishioners stated that they intended to defend their rights through legal channels, including by appealing to international bodies. Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna said she was taking the situation under her oversight. Nevertheless, the authorities of the Khmelnytskyi region signed an order to re-register the religious community of the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village of Kuzmyn under OCU jurisdiction.

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