Ukraine’s Supreme Court Legitimises Church Land Grab from UOC in Ternopil in Favour of OCU
On July 24, the Supreme Court of Ukraine ruled to revoke the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s (UOC) permanent right to use a land plot in Ternopil, where the Cathedral of Saints Faith, Hope, Charity and their mother Sophia has stood since 2009. The decision transferred effective control to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), in what observers describe as yet another example of state-facilitated pressure on the UOC.
This legal battle began in April 2023, when Ternopil City Council unilaterally annulled the UOC’s right to the 0.55-hectare site at 1 Konovaltsia Street. The council cited “missing documentation” and “state interests” as justification—despite the fact that the UOC had held legal use of the land since 30 April 2009.
The UOC eparchy sued to prevent the city from redistributing church property. Initially, a commercial court partially upheld the claim, but the decision was later overturned on appeal. After more than two years of litigation, the Supreme Court rejected the UOC’s final appeal, leaving the revocation in force.
The court justified its decision by stating that the UOC failed to provide sufficient evidence that losing the land made it impossible to continue using the cathedral. But critics call this legal fiction—pointing out that the land was already reallocated in January 2025 to a newly created OCU parish bearing the same name.
Church and legal observers argue that this move is part of a broader campaign by Ukrainian authorities to marginalise the UOC in favour of the OCU, a structure created with open support from the state. They warn that such actions not only disregard the property rights of religious communities, but also undermine basic legal norms.
Fr. Stepan Balan, spokesperson for the Ternopil diocese, commented: “We just want to continue our work. We’ve done nothing illegal in this church—we pray for peace in Ukraine and assist the Armed Forces, but are constantly forced into legal battles.”
His words highlight the current paradox in Ukraine: even expressions of loyalty, including support for the military, no longer guarantee protection for UOC communities. If the state decides a church must be handed over, it will be—regardless of the congregation’s stance.
Since the establishment of the OCU, Ukraine’s religious policy has visibly shifted toward unilateral support of the new structure. This is often accompanied by legal and administrative pressure on the UOC. The Ternopil case is just one of many, but it stands out as a stark example: a cathedral built and maintained by one religious community can now be taken from it by court order and handed to another.
