UOC parish wins court battle over 270-year-old church in Rivne
A commercial court overturned the Rivne authorities’ decision to transfer the 1756 Dormition Church into municipal ownership.
The Commercial Court of Rivne Oblast ruled in favor of the Dormition parish of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), recognizing its ownership of the 1756 Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos under the legal principle of acquisitive prescription.
The judge overturned a Rivne City Council decision and a state registrar’s entry transferring the nationally significant architectural landmark into municipal ownership. During the proceedings, it emerged that city officials had registered ownership of the church complex without obtaining the required approval from the Ministry of Culture.
Moreover, city authorities were unable to provide any evidence that municipal funds had been allocated for repairs, restoration, or maintenance of the building.
Meanwhile, the UOC parish has used the church continuously, openly, and in good faith for worship since 1979 under a heritage protection agreement with the authorities. The court also ordered the City Council to reimburse the Orthodox community 39,240 hryvnias in court fees.
The wooden Dormition Church was built in Rivne in 1756 with donations from parishioners, without a single nail. The church still houses a carved Baroque iconostasis dating to 1784, while a separate wooden bell tower contains five bells. During the Soviet era, Rivne residents saved the church from demolition, preventing the construction of a student dormitory on the site.
As the UOJ previously reported, a court suspended the re-registration of the UOC’s Holy Trinity Cathedral in Odesa.
