Ivano-Frankivsk Eparchy challenges court decision on Transfiguration Church

The fate of the Transfiguration Church of the UOC in Ivano-Frankivsk will continue to be decided in court. Photo: krot.info

The Ivano-Frankivsk Eparchy of the UOC will challenge in the Court of Appeal the decision of the court of first instance, which on September 10, 2020, ordered it to vacate and return the non-residential premises in Chornovola Street in Ivano-Frankivsk (the Transfiguration Church).

“Despite the fact that the lease agreement for non-residential premises, which was concluded back in 2006, provides for the right of the Ivano-Frankivsk Eparchy of the UOC to use the premises prior to the start of the construction of a new house at the above address, the court took into account the plaintiff's arguments regarding the limited time which lease agreements can be concluded with the permission of the executive committee,” the eparchy’s press service commented on the situation. “We inform you that the Ivano-Frankivsk Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will use its right to appeal against the decision of the court of first instance in the Western Economic Court of Appeal.”

Let us remind you that the city authorities of Ivano-Frankivsk have been trying to evict the Transfiguration Community from the rented premises for more than a year. The case went through all instances of Ukrainian justice and was heard at the UN Human Rights Committee, which blocked the decision of the Lviv Economic Court of Appeal of October 15, 2019, which ordered the Ivano-Frankivsk diocese to vacate the rented premises. As a result, the case returned to Ivano-Frankivsk.

“There are only two UOC churches in Ivano-Frankivsk,” said representatives of the eparchy’s press service in a commentary to the UOJ. “And we immediately declared when the courts began that there is hostility and discrimination towards the believers of the Ivano-Frankivsk Eparchy. This is not only discrimination against the community. This is a discriminatory gesture towards the eparchy because these are eparchial premises for administrative buildings."

As reported earlier, the head of the NGO "Public Advocacy" Oleg Denisov called the situation in Ivano-Frankivsk resonant and indicative, since in this case "actions of state authorities of a sufficiently high level in relation to the community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church were manifested".

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