Ternopil region authorities: Not a single transfer to OCU since 2024

Ihor Kulchytskyi speaking at the Ternopil Regional Military Administration. Photo: Ukrinform

The process of so-called transfers in Ternopil region has in effect come to a halt. This was stated by Ihor Kulchytskyi, head of the Department for Ethnopolitics, Freedom of Conscience, and Digital Transformation within the Culture and Tourism Department of the Ternopil Regional Military Administration, during a session of the regional council, Ukrinform reports.

According to official figures from the department, between 2024 and 2026 not a single request was submitted by UOC religious communities to the administration seeking a change in canonical or organizational subordination. As of today, 85 communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church continue to operate officially in the region.

Despite the absence of any voluntary transfers, the authorities continue systematic pressure on the Church through court actions. Kulchytskyi reported that officials, together with the prosecutor’s office, are actively working to seize churches and monastic complexes. Thus, St. Nicholas Cathedral in Kremenets has already been transferred to a historical and architectural preserve, while court proceedings are ongoing over the buildings of the Epiphany Monastery.

Special attention is being paid by the authorities to the properties of the Pochaiv Lavra. According to the official, property rights have been registered for two churches of the Holy Spirit Skete in Pochaiv, and in the coming days a corresponding lawsuit will be filed seeking the return of the remaining buildings to state ownership.

The courts are also considering the cancellation of ownership rights to the All Saints and Protection churches, as well as the right to use the land plot on which the Pochaiv Lavra complex is located.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Kyiv Regional Council had urged the authorities to facilitate the transfer of UOC communities to the OCU.

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