Court hearing on Lavra brotherhood’s eviction postponed over judge’s illness
The hearing on the lawsuit seeking to evict the monks from the Kyiv Caves Lavra did not take place because the judge went on sick leave.
On March 26, 2026, another court hearing in Kyiv on the eviction of the brotherhood from the Kyiv Caves Lavra was postponed. The hearing was called off because the judge officially went on medical leave.
The postponement became known on the very day the hearing had been scheduled, the Fortress Lavra Telegram channel reported. Earlier, Archpriest Mykyta Chekman, counsel for the Kyiv Caves Lavra, had urged the faithful to intensify their prayers and support for the monastery in this high-profile case.
Such delays in cases involving the monastery are not unprecedented. Earlier, the UOJ reported that on March 5, 2026, a hearing at the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal on the issue of the use of the Lower Lavra was also removed from the schedule because of the judge’s illness.