Romny City Council Refused to Allocate Land for OCU Church
Romny authorities rejected the OCU's request for 0.5 hectares of land, citing the city's zoning plan.
In Romny, Sumy Oblast, city council deputies did not support the allocation of a land plot for the construction of an OCU church in the Zasulye district. As reported by Romny 24, the decision to refuse the land was made at the 112th session of the city council, which took place on June 24, 2026.
The draft decision provided for the transfer of a 0.5-hectare plot on Kyivska Street to the "religious community of Saint Panteleimon." The deputies rejected the document, justifying this by the fact that, according to the city's zoning plan, the territory is classified as public green space.
OCU "priest" Ihor Muriy called the authorities' decision unjust and added: "I would like to hear an honest answer from the deputies: what were they afraid of? Ukrainian prayer? The Ukrainian Church? Or perhaps they are considerably more comfortable when OCU communities remain without their own churches?"
City council deputy Dmytro Menko accused his colleagues of using "excuses" and applying double standards in the distribution of community resources. However, even before the session began, he had anticipated that the decision would not be supported.
OCU cleric Vadym Polishchuk reported that the issue of land allocation had been raised as far back as 2023. According to him, officials initially cited the absence of documentation, and in 2026 stated that the territory had already been included in the General Plan as a green zone.
"It gives the impression that everything was done to refuse lawfully. I do not understand whom the authorities are waiting for and to whom they want to report that they did not provide land for the construction of a church," said the representative of Dumenko's structure.
As the SPJ reported, the Lviv city administration again lost the court case regarding the demolition of an OCU chapel.
