Appeals court upholds transfer of St. Nicholas Church in Kyiv to RCC community
A court has brought to a close a twenty-year legal battle to return the historic church to the Catholic community.
On June 5, 2025, the Court of Appeals in Dnipro upheld the decision of the lower court to transfer ownership of St. Nicholas Church in Kyiv to the Roman Catholic parish, the church community announced on Facebook. The ruling marks the culmination of a decades-long struggle to restore the sacred site to its rightful owner.
“We have prayed for this for years. And today, justice has prevailed. The court recognized our rights, recognized the truth. This is a victory not only for Catholics—it is a victory for all of Ukrainian civil society,” said Fr. Paweł Wyszkowski, OMI, pastor of the church.
The legal battle has spanned more than twenty years. In 2005, President Viktor Yushchenko initiated the process of returning the church to the Catholic community. In 2020, President Volodymyr Zelensky reaffirmed this intent, sending an official letter to the Pope.
In a letter dated October 6, 2020, delivered to the Vatican, Zelensky wrote: “I am pleased to inform you that on September 16, 2020, pursuant to a Presidential Decree, the government adopted a decision instructing the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine to ensure the transfer of the building of the Roman Catholic Church of St. Nicholas in Kyiv to the Parish of St. Nicholas of the Kyiv-Zhytomyr Diocese for permanent and free use.”
Despite these official declarations and documents, the transfer had not yet been carried out by the executive authorities.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the handover of the church is not only lawful but also a deeply moral act, affirming respect for Ukraine’s historical and spiritual heritage.
The parish now awaits the Ministry of Culture to execute the court’s decision and formally transfer the sacred site to the community.
