Prosecutor details court cases over Pochaiv Lavra property

Head of the Ternopil Regional Prosecutor’s Office Vitaliy Panchenko. Photo: Suspilne Ternopil

Courts in Ternopil and Kyiv are considering four cases seeking the return to the state of property and land plots belonging to the Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra. Vitaliy Panchenko, head of the Ternopil Regional Prosecutor’s Office, said this during a briefing, according to Suspilne Ternopil.

According to the official, the court proceedings concern two main areas of the prosecutor’s work to protect the interests of the state and the territorial community. Panchenko explained that the lawsuits seek “the return of property – specifically premises – from communal to state ownership, as well as the recovery of land plots from unlawful possession.”

Of the four cases currently under consideration, three were opened on the basis of lawsuits filed by prosecutors. The fourth lawsuit was filed by representatives of the Ternopil Regional Military Administration. In that case, prosecutors formally joined the proceedings on the side of the regional administration, seeking to recover monastery properties from the Lavra’s possession.

The prosecution is placing particular emphasis on property that had previously belonged to the Regional Military Administration but was subsequently re-registered in the monastery’s name. Since representatives of Pochaiv Lavra have filed counterclaims, the parties are now arguing their respective positions in adversarial court proceedings.

“In these proceedings, the prosecution authorities see circumstances that require an appropriate response. That is precisely why we went to court. We are proving our position through the adversarial process,” the prosecutor said. He described the prosecution’s key objective as an effort “to ensure compliance with the law and prevent the unlawful removal of property from state ownership.”

Alongside the court cases, state authorities are increasing administrative pressure on the monastery. In July 2026, DESS issued an order requiring the abbot of Pochaiv Lavra to declare his disagreement with his appointment to governing bodies of the Russian Orthodox Church, prepare a statement severing ties with the ROC, and, together with the Spiritual Council, “provide a decision on Pochaiv Lavra’s withdrawal from the structure of the Kyiv Metropolia of the UOC,” which state authorities have recognized as affiliated with the ROC.

As the UOJ previously reported, a blogger commented on DESS’s demand that Pochaiv Lavra sever ties with the UOC.

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