Court hearing in the Upper Lavra case postponed
The court postponed the hearing on the Upper Lavra case in Kyiv to September 29 due to procedural violations.
The court hearing concerning the Upper Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra has been postponed to September 29, 2026. This was reported by the monastery's attorney, Archpriest Nikita Chekman.
According to him, the court committed gross procedural violations: the monks, who are third parties in the case, were not notified of the hearing date, nor were they informed of the time and place of the proceedings. Despite this, the hearing was commenced.
The monastery's side filed a motion to recuse the panel of judges, the consideration of which took a considerable amount of time. Ultimately, the motion was denied; however, the court nonetheless decided to postpone the hearing in order to properly notify the monks and eliminate any doubts regarding their summons.
Chekman also noted that people aggressively opposed to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church had arrived at the court, among them provocateurs. According to the attorney, professional pressure was being exerted on him as a defense representative, in connection with which he filed a report with law enforcement authorities under Article 397 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (interference with the activities of a defense counsel). David Pshenychny, well known on social media, publicly referred to Chekman as "an attorney of the Russian Orthodox Church" and displayed a document resembling a Russian Federation passport bearing the attorney's photograph.
Near the courthouse, radical Korchynsky also appeared, offering UOC believers to "repent" and submit a confession to the SBU.
In the courthouse corridor, Pshenychny — who previously became known due to a shooting at St. Michael's Cathedral in Cherkasy — threatened Viktoria Kokhanovska. Police intervened and prevented the conflict from escalating; however, according to eyewitnesses, the provocateurs were dissatisfied with the actions of law enforcement officers, and threats were directed at them, including remarks about the necessity of leaving the country.
As the UOJ reported, UOC believers and provocateurs gathered near the court hearing on the Lavra case in Kyiv.
