Court rejects the appeal of the UOC community in Kuty, but the struggle for the church continues

According to a UOJ source, the Lviv Court dismissed the appeal of the UOC community of the village of Kuty, Shumsk district, Ternopil region. The Holy Righteous Anna community still cannot return the title right to the church built by it.

The UOC community appealed against the decision of the Ternopil Economic Court to reverse its ownership right to the church. The reason was the Act of admission to operation was not found in archives. But the shelf life of such documents is 10 years. The church was built in 1997. However, it was stated that "if the document is missing now, then it has never been available," told The UOJ Andrey Zakharchuk, a lawyer presenting the UOC community in court.

Since January 2016, no service has been held at the Holy Righteous Anna Church, the doors are locked. The church is an apple of discord between the UOC community and the Kiev Patriarchate.

"Now we are holding services in the tent of 5 by 10 meters, set in private grounds, because of fear of arson and other acts of vandalism," said Archpriest Igor Kushniruk, the dean of Holy Righteous Anna Church.

The priest said that the community is not going to give up.

"We are going to file an appeal in Kiev courts, and if we fail to find justice there, then we’ll appeal to the European courts," said the dean.

UOJ is closely monitoring the situation.