Struggle of UOC community for Konstantinovka church to continue in ECHR

Sretensky temple in Konstantinovka

On June 19, the judicial panel of the Supreme Court, reversing the decisions of previous courts, decided to refuse the claims of the Gorlovka eparchy of the UOC concerning the church in Konstantinovka, reports the press service of the platform "Uspishna Varta".

Lawyer Yuri Zakharchenko, commenting on the decision of the judge, said that the possibilities to protect their rights are not exhausted and the next step will be filing an action in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

"Now we are waiting for the text of the court's decision. In parallel, we begin preparations for filing a lawsuit with the ECHR," Zakharchenko said.

The decision of the Supreme Court was a surprise for the parishioners of the Holy-Sretensky temple in Konstantinovka, which from 2015 to 2018. successively won the courts of the first and second instances.

In August 2017, the Supreme Economic Court of Ukraine in Kiev ruled in favor of the Gorlovka eparchy.

In October 2015, the Sretensky Church of the UOC in Konstantinovka was seized by representatives of the Kiev Patriarchate. This happened after the businessman and deputy of the Donetsk Regional Council Yuri Shapran personally made changes to the leadership of the parish council, as a result of which the confessional affiliation of the church was changed in favor of the UOC KP.

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