Official complains that believers are defending monastery in Kremenets
Director of the Kremenetsky Reserve Vasily Ilchishin reported that the abbess of the monastery was absent and refused to communicate with representatives of the executive service.
Director of the Kremenets Reserve Vasily Ilchishin expressed dissatisfaction that when attempting to inspect the Epiphany monastery of the UOC, he found a large number of believers there who had come to support the monastery. This is reported by "Suspilne Ternopil".
On June 12, 2026, the director of the reserve together with representatives of the executive service came to the Epiphany women's monastery in Kremenets allegedly to check compliance with a court decision on the return of property.
According to Ilchishin, upon arrival at the monastery territory, the commission recorded the presence of a large number of believers. The official essentially presented the presence of laypeople in the monastery as a problem, although believers have the right to be in the church and pray.
At the same time, representatives of the reserve asked members of the religious community to call the leadership. In response, commission members were told that the abbess – the official representative of the community – was away and the timing of her return was unknown. When asked to arrange telephone contact with the abbess, Ilchishin was also refused: according to him, community representatives stated that the abbess did not intend to call back.
The conflict around the Epiphany Monastery in Kremenets has been ongoing for several years. The monastery complex is on the balance sheet of the Kremenets-Pochaev State Historical and Architectural Reserve, and the monastic community used the buildings based on a free-use agreement that expired in September 2023.
Earlier, Ilchishin had already attracted attention with similar complaints: during searches at Pochaev Lavra, he also claimed alleged "provocations" by believers present on the monastery territory.
Such tactics – presenting the presence of laypeople in church as "provocation" or "aggression" – have been repeatedly used by officials associated with state reserves when pressuring communities of the Ternopol Eparchy of the UOC and other monasteries of the Church.
Earlier, the Union of Orthodox Journalists wrote that on May 6, 2026, the Western Commercial Court of Appeal ordered the monastery to return to the reserve a complex of buildings with a total area of 3,218 sq. m – the Epiphany Cathedral (1760), the cell building (1760), and the bell tower (20th century). In total, more than 40 court sessions were held on this case over three years.
