SBU initiates criminal proceedings regarding school at Holosiiv Monastery

The Holosiiv Monastery of the UOC. Photo: Kyivfoto

The Main Investigation Department of the SBU has initiated criminal proceedings regarding the activities of an educational institution operating at the Holy Intercession Holosiiv Monastery in Kyiv.

Head of the Main Investigation Department of the SBU Andriy Shvets stated that the case was opened under the article on production and distribution of communist or Nazi symbols, as well as propaganda of totalitarian regimes.

According to the investigation's version, under the guise of a "family club," an "underground school" was actually operating in the monastery. Shvets reported that the "attendees" of this institution are pupils of LLC "Khotianivskyi Lyceum 'Rancho School.'"

At present, investigators have already ordered a semantic-textual examination of statements made by club participants, and the Ministry of Education and Science together with the children's affairs inspection are conducting a verification of the institution's legal activities. Based on the conclusions obtained, an appropriate procedural decision will be made.

As a reminder, on January 6, 2026, "Slidstvo.Info" journalists published material about the activities of the school at the Holosiiv Monastery, calling it "underground." The report claimed that children were taught using Soviet textbooks and forced to sing the RF anthem, although no evidence of this was provided in the video.

Later, the Kyiv Regional Military Administration suspended the license of the private lyceum "Rancho School," which was mentioned in the case materials. The decision was made based on the results of an inspection by the State Service for Education Quality. Previously, the lyceum received state subvention, but funding was terminated in 2026.

On March 24, 2026, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience announced the establishment of signs of affiliation between the Holosiiv Monastery and the Russian Orthodox Church. The agency justified this by the monastery's subordination to the Kyiv Metropolia of the UOC, which the State Service had previously also recognized as "having ties with Moscow." The formal reason for inspecting the monastery was the activities of the Orthodox school located on its grounds.

Previously, the UOJ wrote that a "priest" of the OCU called on the SBU to punish the head of the territorial community for supporting UOC believers.

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