Cherkasy authorities attempt to declare seized UOC cathedral "ownerless"

St. Michael's Cathedral of Cherkasy. Photo: Shutterstock

The Cherkasy Eparchy of the UOC has refuted attempts by the authorities to legalize the seizure of the St. Michael's Cathedral through a scheme of declaring it "ownerless" property. The corresponding statement by the eparchy's Legal Department was published by the Telegram channel "Dozor."

The head of the eparchy's Legal Department, Archpriest Heorhiy Pohranychny, emphasized that the cathedral had been built by the parish community with donations from the faithful beginning in 1999. The legal status of ownership is confirmed by Decision No. 929 of the Cherkasy City Executive Committee dated August 21, 2001, according to which the eparchy was allocated 12.0583 hectares of land for permanent use.

The community possesses technical passports, inventory records, and land management documentation in which the UOC is listed as the client and owner. The eparchy openly owned, maintained, and used the cathedral for 23 years prior to its forcible seizure on October 17, 2024.

At present, the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC is defending its rights in the Commercial Court of Kyiv. On July 22, 2026, the court opened proceedings in case No. 910/8383/26 concerning the annulment of the unlawful order of the Ministry of Justice. The existence of an active legal dispute directly proves the existence of a lawful owner and makes it impossible to declare the property "ownerless."

Earlier, the Cherkasy Prosecutor's Office initiated the procedure for transferring the shrine to communal ownership, claiming that information about the owner of the building complex was allegedly "absent." The district Prosecutor's Office sent a request to the City Council demanding that the owner be "identified," even though the same document acknowledged that ownership of the cathedral had been registered under the Cherkasy Eparchy of the UOC as far back as December 10, 2018.

As the UOJ reported, the Cherkasy City Council transferred to the OCU the land under the seized St. Michael's Cathedral.

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