Chernihiv Eparchy: UOC uses sanctuary monasteries legally

The Chernihiv Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church said that it uses the Trinity and Eletsky monasteries, as well as the Transfiguration Cathedral, on legal grounds. The eparchy's press service posted the statement on its official website.

The statement says that recently there has been a campaign in the media related to a letter written by the Acting Director General of the National Architectural and Historical Reserve "Chernihiv Ancient" Volodymyr Khomych. He demanded that the Chernihiv Eparchy of the UOC vacate the premises which belong to the reserve by March 27, 2023.

The eparchy referred to the law: "According to Article 17 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations’, religious buildings and property that constitute state property are transferred to organizations, on the balance sheet of which they are located, for gratuitous use or returned to religious organizations for free," reads the press service statement.

Also, the press service said in its response that "the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 9 of the Law "On Lease of State and Municipal Property", according to which it is prohibited to transfer state or municipal property for free use or loan, cannot be applied to the specified contractual relations," the press service of the Chernihiv Eparchy said.

"The Law of Ukraine ‘On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations’ has priority over other acts of legislation regulating the transfer of religious buildings that constitute state property over the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Lease of State and Municipal Property’ as it is a special legal act," the statement said.

In the conclusion, the UOC drew attention to the fact that the explanation letters of the State Property Fund of Ukraine are solely informational and explanatory in nature and do not establish legal norms.

As reported, on March 2, the National Architectural and Historical Reserve "Ancient Chernihiv" sent a letter to the UOC with a demand to leave the territory of the reserve. The letter said that this demand was caused by the fact that back in September 2021, the terms of the agreements on the use of the monuments of reserve architecture by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church expired.