On 7 February 2024, the Pivnichnyi Commercial Court of Appeals of the city of Kyiv granted consent to the additional involvement of monks as third parties in the case on the removal of obstacles to the use of the churches of the Upper Kyiv Caves Lavra. Archpriest Mykyta Chekman, the lawyer of the Kyiv Caves Monastery, has informed about it on his Telegram channel, the Information and Education Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church reports.

Archpriest Mykyta Chekman noted that the court had made a balanced decision by agreeing to the additional involvement of the monks as third parties in the case.

‘In addition, it is significant’, he underlined, ‘that the court has exempted a monk from paying the court fee and has opened proceedings on the appeal of another monk.’

The lawyer said that the court hearing was postponed to 6 March.

As reported, at the beginning of January 2023, former Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkachenko stated that the Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery of the UOC had been deprived of the right to use the Dormition Cathedral and the Refectory Church. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church regards this decision as unlawful and is defending her rights in court. Currently, the Pivnichnyi Commercial Court of Appeals is considering an appeal by the Kyiv Caves Monastery to remove obstacles to the use of the Upper Lavra churches. In particular, as the lawyer previously reported, monks of the Monastery filed separate appeals and applications to join the case as third parties.

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