Prosecutors in Ternopil region seek return of OCU shrine to state ownership

Cells located on the edge of the village near an ancient cave shrine. Photo: Facebook

It became known on March 12, 2026, that the Chortkiv District Prosecutor’s Office had filed a lawsuit demanding that the Bilche-Zolote village council register as ownerless the “abandoned” cells of the Basilian Monastery in the village of Monastyrok, according to the Ternopil Regional Prosecutor’s Office on Facebook.

The case concerns an architectural monument of national significance that is currently in unsatisfactory condition. Prosecutors established that, although the local authorities were aware that the site had no lawful owner, for years they had taken no steps to formalize ownership rights over it. Because of this bureaucratic deadlock, the village council has no legal grounds to allocate funds for the protection and preservation of the historic structure.

In practice, the ancient cells located beside the cave shrine are being watched over by parishioners of the local Church of the Exaltation of the Precious Cross, where the OCU holds its “services.” However, the community apparently lacks the means to maintain the monastic complex in proper condition, and so the прокуратура was forced to concern itself with its fate.

The monastery complex itself has a long history. The monastery was founded in 1600 by Stefan Potocki, while the presently existing cells and stone church were built in 1772 by Jan Potocki. In 1793, the monastery was abolished by the Austrian government because of debts, after which the church became a parish church and the cells began to fall into ruin. The Ternopil District Administrative Court has now opened proceedings in the case, which is to decide the fate of the decaying shrine.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that a court had returned a seized church in Ivankiv to a UOC community.

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