Court demands UOC to hand over 15th century church in Sutkivtsi to state

The UOC church in the village of Sutkivtsi, Khmelnytskyi region. Photo: wikipedia.org

On March 6, 2024, the Khmelnytskyi Court of Appeal ordered the UOC community to vacate the 15th-century church-fortress in the village of Sutkivtsi, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, and "transfer" it to the state. This was reported by the court's press service.

Earlier, the court of first instance ordered the UOC to transfer the church to the state, but its rector disagreed with this decision and filed an appeal.

Representatives of the Khmelnytskyi Regional State Administration stated in court that the UOC community used the church "without any title documents or contracts and did not respond to demands to vacate the premises voluntarily."

At the same time, the judges who made the decision to transfer the church to the state stated that in the village, "there are two communities that can apply to the church owner for permission to use it."

However, the judges did not specify which communities they were referring to and to which denomination they belonged.

As the UOJ reported, the court demanded that the UOC vacate the premises of the Yelets Convent.

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