Supreme Court rejects UOC appeal over Kremenets Monastery
Ukraine's Supreme Court has ruled that the buildings of the UOC Epiphany Monastery in Kremenets must be returned to the state.
The Commercial Cassation Court of Ukraine's Supreme Court has rejected an appeal filed by the Epiphany Convent of the UOC Ternopil Eparchy in a case concerning the return of the monastery's buildings in Kremenets to state ownership, Ukrinform reports.
The panel of judges upheld the July 24, 2025, ruling of the Commercial Court of Ternopil Region and the May 6, 2026, decision of the Western Commercial Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court's ruling took effect immediately upon issuance and is final, with no further appeal possible.
The decision concerns a complex of historic architectural monuments comprising the Epiphany Cathedral, a residential building containing monastic cells dating to 1760, and a 20th-century bell tower, with a total area of 3,218 square meters.
In their appeal, the nuns argued that they permanently reside in the monastery's residential building and that eviction would deprive them of their homes and the opportunity to participate in worship services. The court, however, rejected their appeal.
The legal dispute over the Epiphany Monastery complex lasted nearly three years and involved more than 40 court hearings. The agreement granting the monastery free use of the historic buildings expired in September 2023, after which the Kremenets-Pochaiv Reserve, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, filed a lawsuit seeking the return of the property.
The monastic community challenged the eviction and separately sought a court order transferring ownership of the residential building to the convent. However, both the trial and appellate courts ruled in favor of the state, and the Supreme Court's decision brought the case to a final close.
As the UOJ previously reported, a court in Cherkasy Region stripped the UOC's Lebedyn Monastery of its bell tower.
