Kiev, November 13, 2026
Kiev Caves Lavra. Photo: rferl.org
As Ukraine and the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” (OCU) continue their campaign of persecution, the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) has suffered two serious losses in court, in the cases of the Kiev Caves Lavra and the Archangel Michael Cathedral in Cherkasy.
On November 12, the Northern Appeals Commercial Court in Kiev rejected the Lavra’s appeal in case No. 910/423/23, which concerns removing obstacles to the monastery’s use of the Dormition Cathedral and the Refectory Church. UOC attorney Archpriest Nikita Chekman reported the ruling on his Telegram channel.
Once the monastery’s representatives receive the full text of the decision, they’ll file a cassation appeal.
In a separate post, Archpriest Nikita described the hearing as marked by gross procedural violations. He said the monks brought in as third parties never got notice of the session, UOC attorneys had just one minute each to justify their motions, and the judges spent about five minutes “examining” 30 volumes of case materials, roughly 7,500 pages, before moving on to debates.
Archpriest Nikita said the judges constantly interrupted the speakers from the Lavra and raised their voices at them. Activists in the courtroom shouted insults, including “Why are you listening to them? They’re FSB agents!” and “Moscow sellouts!”
St. Michael Cathedral in Cherkassy. Photo: telegraf.com
In Cherkasy, the Commercial Court of Cherkasy Province sided with the OCU and recognized its ownership of the UOC’s St. Michael’s Cathedral and the complex of buildings around it, reports the Union of Orthodox Journalists.
Judge Oleg Chevguz transferred to the OCU a complex of more than 53,000 square feet that includes the cathedral, the diocesan administration, an orphans’ school, a church shop, a church, a boiler house, and a chapel.
The OCU had no construction permits for the buildings, so the court based its ruling on a provision that transfers “unauthorized construction” to the permanent user of the land. The Cherkasy City Council granted the OCU community that permanent use in December 2025.
The court also refused to admit the actual owners—the Cherkasy Diocesan Administration of the UOC, the Kiev Metropolis of the UOC, and more than 700 parishioners to the proceedings.
The entire Cherkasy Diocese of the UOC built the cathedral over 24 years under the late Metropolitan Sophronius, who registered it as diocesan property in 2018. In March 2024, the Justice Ministry annulled that registration, after which city authorities declared the cathedral an ownerless unauthorized construction and re-registered the land.
On October 17, 2024, raiders in camouflage seized the cathedral by force during an overnight Liturgy, using tear gas and rubber-bullet weapons. Twenty-six believers were injured and 12 people were hospitalized. His Eminence Metropolitan Theodosy was hospitalized after the assault with a concussion and eye burns.
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