Court upholds transfer of UOC’s Transfiguration Cathedral in Varash to OCU
A Rivne Region court has rejected the UOC’s lawsuit challenging the transfer of the Transfiguration Cathedral in Varash to the OCU.
On August 22, 2023, the court ruled as lawful the meeting during which the community allegedly voted to “transfer” the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Sarny Eparchy of the UOC in Varash to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). The decision was published on the website of the Unified State Register of Court Decisions (EDRSR).
In the lawsuit, one of the founders of the UOC’s Transfiguration Cathedral community demanded that the decisions made by OCU supporters – including the transfer of the church and the adoption of a new statute – be declared illegal and annulled.
According to the plaintiff, all decisions at the OCU assembly were invalid because the UOC community had already held its own meeting, during which 1,528 members voted to remain within the UOC.
“The decision was made not by a parish assembly, but by a gathering of the territorial community – individuals consisting of a group of deputies and others who are not members (founders or participants) of the religious community,” he added.
As previously reported by the UOJ, the "maidan" in Varash had earlier decided to transfer the UOC church to the OCU.
