Odesa prosecutors appeal UOC church ruling to Supreme Court
The Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office has appealed to the Supreme Court, seeking to transfer a UOC church to state ownership.
The Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office has filed a cassation appeal with the Commercial Cassation Court of the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn rulings by two lower courts that protected a church belonging to the Odesa Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from being seized by the state.
According to UOJ sources, prosecutors are challenging the September 17, 2026 ruling of the Southwestern Commercial Court of Appeal and the May 6, 2025 decision of the Commercial Court of Odesa Region.
Acting on behalf of Ukraine's Ministry of Education and Science, the prosecutor's office is seeking to take the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” on Inhlezi Street away from its congregation and transfer it to the Odesa College of Trade and Economics.
The appellate court previously rejected the authorities' claims, finding that the church had been built with funds contributed by the religious community under a 2007 investment agreement, with believers financing 84.9% of the construction costs.
The court also noted that government authorities and the ministry had known about the church and its use for many years without raising any objections. The panel of judges emphasized that the UOC community had continuously used the building for worship since 2009 and that the prosecutor's office had pursued an improper legal remedy.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that a court had suspended the reregistration of the UOC's Holy Trinity Cathedral in Odesa.
