In Kamin-Kashyrskyi, UOC believers defend their church from transfer to the OCU through the courts

The Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in Kamin-Kashyrskyi. Photo: BUH.

On August 17, it became known that the court dispute in Kamin-Kashyrskyi is ongoing, where UOC believers are defending the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos from transfer to an OCU community, reports the publication "BUH."

The conflict surrounding the 18th-century architectural monument has been ongoing since 2019. In September 2023, the Volyn Regional State Administration registered a new version of the religious community's charter as a structure of the OCU and made the corresponding changes to the state register. UOC parishioners did not agree with this re-registration and continue to seek the preservation of their community's right to use the church.

In the spring of 2025, OCU representatives filed a lawsuit with the Kamin-Kashyrskyi District Court seeking the removal of obstacles to the use of the church and the land plot. Since then, more than 30 hearings have been held in the case, and the UOC side is using procedural mechanisms provided by law, filing motions and contesting decisions related to the re-registration of the religious community.

The authors of the publication accuse UOC believers of "dragging out" the process due to changes of lawyers and the filing of new motions. In July, the court refused to close the proceedings, and on August 10 it rejected a request by UOC representatives to clarify a previously adopted ruling on the matter of the state registrar.

Despite the OCU community's possession of registration documents, the dispute over the shrine has not been finally resolved. The examination of the case on its merits continues, and UOC believers are still defending the church through the courts against transfer to another religious structure.

The SPJ previously reported that pilgrims from Zakarpattia supported the persecuted UOC community in Kerstentsi.

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