The court demands that the UOC vacate premises of Yelets Convent

Yelets Convent of the UOC in Chernihiv. Photo: mcip.gov.ua

On October 26, 2023, the Economic Court of Chernihiv Oblast ruled that the presence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in the premises of the Yelets Convent in Chernihiv was illegal. This information was reported by the Ministry of Culture's press service.

As a result, the court rejected the lawsuit by the Chernihiv Diocese of the UOC, whose lawyers insisted on recognizing the contract for free use of the monastery as renewed.

The Ministry of Culture noted that within the monastery premises, there are the Assumption Cathedral, the Northern Cells, the Eastern Cells, the Southwest Cells, and the walls with gates.

"Since September 15, 2021, the administration of the Chernihiv Diocese of the UOC has been unlawfully, without any legal basis, using state property – the premises of the architectural monument of national significance, the Yelets Monastery," the department stated.

In a comment to the UOJ, Father Ihor, the secretary of the Chernihiv Diocese, had previously stated that the authorities had offered the UOC to enter into new agreements for the use of the Yelets Monastery. However, according to him, the new conditions involved a very high rental fee that the diocese could not afford.

The Yelets nunnery is home to over 40 sisters, some of whom are bedridden, and two-thirds of them are over 80 years old.

As reported by the UOJ, law enforcement officers blocked the monastery and two UOC cathedrals in Chernihiv.

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