On lands transferred to the OCU and UGCC, apartments were built for sale – media
Journalists reported that on plots allocated for religious facilities of the Dumenko structure and the Uniates in Ternopil, multi-apartment residential complexes were being constructed.
Journalists published an investigation according to which multi-apartment buildings for sale were constructed on land plots freely transferred to religious communities of the OCU and UGCC for the construction of churches, spiritual centers, and other ecclesiastical facilities in Ternopil. This was reported by the publication «Novyny Krainy».
According to the investigation, the matter concerns more than 500 apartments. Among the cited examples is the OCU church of Venerable Job of Pochaev, where a 10-story residential building with 44 apartments appeared on a plot originally allocated for an educational center and later for a church. A similar situation, as the journalists assert, was recorded at the OCU parish of Saint John the Theologian, where a residential complex of approximately 165 apartments was built instead of a church facility.
The authors of the investigation also point out that on the territory of the OCU parish of Boris and Gleb there are three multi-story buildings with more than 200 apartments, and near the OCU cathedral of Saints Constantine and Helen, construction began with a residential building, although the land was allocated for a diocesan administration and a theological seminary.
Furthermore, the material provides examples of UGCC facilities. In particular, near the church of the Most Holy Trinity, after the transfer of a plot for the expansion of the church complex, the construction of a 10-story residential building with 168 apartments was approved, and part of the land allocated to the church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos for a church and a family rehabilitation center was subsequently reclassified for residential development.
The investigation also analyzes decisions of the city council, changes in the designated purpose of land plots, urban planning documentation, and the involvement of religious communities and developers in the implementation of these projects.
As the SPJ reported, MP Poturaev stated that Ukrainians should finance the OCU and UGCC from their taxes.
