Court opens proceedings on DESS suit seeking closure of Holosiiv Monastery

The Protection (Pokrov) Holosiiv Monastery in Kyiv. Photo: inok.info/monasteries

The Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal has opened proceedings in a case brought by State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) against the Holy Protection Holosiiv Hermitage (Holosiiv Monastery) of the Kyiv Metropolia of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The announcement was published on the official DESS website.

According to the court ruling, proceedings in case No. 855/8/26 were opened on July 13, 2026. The lawsuit was filed by DESS on July 7.

The agency is asking the court to terminate the religious organization through liquidation and to transfer its property, funds, and other assets to state ownership, with the exception of liturgical property.

The court ruled that the case will be considered under a simplified procedure without summoning the parties, based solely on the materials already submitted. The monastery’s legal representatives have been given 15 days from receipt of the ruling to file their response to the claim.

The ruling entered into force upon signing and cannot be appealed. However, it concerns only the opening of proceedings and does not constitute a decision on the merits of the case.

As the UOJ previously reported, DESS earlier declared the Holosiiv Monastery to be affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church.

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