UOC lawyer asks for support ahead of Upper Lavra court hearing
Archpriest Nikita Chekman urged believers to pray for and support the UOC legal team ahead of the November 3 hearing concerning the Upper Lavra.
Archpriest Nikita Chekman, a lawyer representing the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, has called on believers to prayerfully support the human rights defenders ahead of the next court hearing in the Upper Lavra case.
The hearing is scheduled November 3, 2026, at 2:20 p.m. at the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal in Kyiv. "I ask for your holy prayers and support," the lawyer appealed to the faithful.
Recent court hearings involving the UOC have been accompanied by protests by radical activists, who have staged provocations and threatened both UOC believers and lawyers representing the monastery.
During one of the latest hearings, radical activist David Pshenychnyi attacked a lawyer representing the monastery, prompting an ambulance to be called to the courthouse to provide medical assistance.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that Culture Minister Tetiana Berezhna had announced plans to expedite legal proceedings against the UOC to transfer control of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra to the state. She also pledged to personally attend one of the hearings.
