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Ukraine: Supreme Court confirms that UOC-KP was liquidated legally

17. Juni 2021
The Supreme Court has ruled that the UOC-KP was liquidated legally and further attempts to prove the opposite in the courts have no prospects. The text of the Court judgement in case No. 761/25084/20 of May 19, 2021, was published by Religiyna Pravda on June 7. In particular, the decision states that the resolution of the local council of the UOC-KP, which took place on December 15, 2018, just before the Unification Council, is valid. This decree, which was signed personally by Bishop Filaret, stopped the activities of the religious organization "Kyiv Patriarchate of the UOC-KP".

The Supreme Court of Ukraine noted that this decision "was made by the statutory bodies of a religious association within the limits of their powers, and therefore is exclusively an internal activity of a religious organization, interference by state authorities in which is not allowed." Thus, "no court as a public authority can consider disputes concerning the validity/invalidity of this decision", which negates the slightest prospects of any further judicial appeal against the legality of the termination of the religious association UOC-KP and the RO "Kyiv Patriarchate of the UOC-KP" as its religious center.

In addition, the Supreme Court in the rationale of the decision clearly established that the UOC-KP ceased its activities by merging and joining the UOC (OCU), and all the functions of the statutory bodies of the UOC-KP passed to the competence of the relevant statutory bodies of the UOC (OCU), which received all the powers and legal grounds for making decisions regarding religious organizations that were part of the former religious association of the UOC-KP, in particular in relation to the RO "Kyiv Patriarchate of the UOC-KP".

Earlier, Bishop Filaret sued the head of the OCU Epifaniy, members of the Holy Synod and state registrar of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine Bohdan Severenchuk to invalidate decisions and cancel registration actions in relation to the UOC-KP, which was registered as liquidated. On January 30, 2019, the Ministry of Culture issued an order to register the Charter of the OCU and canceled orders to register the Charter of the former UOC-KP. On July 27, 2019, the Synod of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine decided to terminate the activities of the UOC-KP. (Quelle: www.risu.ua, 8. Juni 2021)