Kyiv City Council Members Call for Demolition of UOC Churches
Draft resolution of the Kyiv City Council on the demolition of 74 UOC churches
Kyiv City Council deputy from the "Holos" faction Vadym Vasylchuk initiated discriminatory inspections of Kyiv's UOC churches with the aim of their subsequent physical destruction.
On September 13, 2023, a draft resolution was submitted to the Kyiv City Council for consideration: "On the particularities of vacating land plots of communal property of the territorial community of the city of Kyiv that have been unlawfully occupied and built upon by religious organizations (associations) whose governing center (administration) is located outside Ukraine in a state recognized by law as having committed military aggression against Ukraine and/or as having temporarily occupied part of the territory of Ukraine, or which have canonical and liturgical ties with religious organizations of the aggressor state."
Its author is deputy of the "Holos" faction Vadym Vasylchuk.
The draft stated that the Department of Land Resources of the Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA), together with the district state administrations, must within three months of the publication of the resolution conduct an inspection of the land plots used by the UOC and determine the legality of the churches constructed on them. Should it be established that these churches lack the required permitting documents, the land plots must be "restored to their previous condition" and the churches demolished "at the expense of the persons who permitted the unauthorized placement or construction."
In the event of refusal, the city was to demolish the churches itself and present the bill to the religious communities.
As justification for the draft, the document asserted that "at the present time there exist numerous facts and instances in which the interests of certain religious organizations adhering to particular beliefs conflict with public interests, pose a threat to public and national security, and the actions of certain representatives of these religious bodies contain elements of criminal offenses that provoke outrage and broad negative public reaction."
The author of the draft claimed that "the adoption and implementation of this draft will promote the establishment of harmony and peace on religious grounds, interfaith dialogue and unity in society, the ensuring of the rights and freedoms of citizens, including in determining canonical affiliation, and the prevention of conflicts on religious grounds within the territorial community of the city of Kyiv."
The draft was submitted for consideration to the Kyiv City Council's Standing Commission on Architecture, Urban Planning and Land Relations and the Standing Commission on Culture, Tourism and Public Communications.
The KCSA appended a list of UOC churches subject to inspection and potential demolition:
Church of the Theophany, 9 Sviatoslava Khrabroho St.
Church of the Presentation of the Most Holy Theotokos, 17a Academician Hlushkov Ave.
Resurrection Academic Church on Pechersk, 27 Lavrska St.
Resurrection Church, 17 Lavrska St.
Presentation Church, 27/44 Pochainynska St.
Church of Sts. Andrew and Vladimir, 3 Zaliznychne Shosse St.
Church of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, 21 Ivana Kramskoho St.
Church of the Resurrection "Slovushchego" (at Baikove Cemetery), 16 Baikova St.
Church of the Pantanassa Icon of the Mother of God (at Hospital No. 9), 1 Ryzhska St.
Church of the "Helper in Childbirth" Icon of the Mother of God, 16 Ivasiuka St.
Church of the Apostle Luke (in the Kyiv Medical Support Division at the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Hospital), 19 Maiborody St.
Church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, 21a Honhadze Ave.
Church of the Grand Martyr Catherine (at Lukyanivske Cemetery), 7/3 Dorohozhytska St.
Church of the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of the Orthodox Faith, 7 Dorohozhytska St.
Church of the Grand Martyr Catherine, 10 Priorska St.
Church of the Grand Martyr George the Victorious, 3 Rodnykovy Lane.
Church of the Grand Martyr George the Victorious (Ministry of Internal Affairs Hospital), 1 Berdychevska St.
Church of the Grand Martyr Panteleimon (Kyiv City Clinical Hospital for Veterans), 26 Fedora Maksymenka St.
Church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, 86–88 Sichovykh Striltsiv St.
Church Complex in Honor of the Nativity of Christ, 3b Shumskoho St.
Holy Cross Exaltation Church on Podil, 1a Vozdvyzhenska St.
Chapel in Honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, 1a Vozdvyzhenska St.
Church of the Theodorov Icon of the Mother of God (at the Neurosurgery Research Institute), 32 Maiborody St.
Church of the Venerable Theodore the Sanctified, 7 Ovruchska St.
Church of the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, 42 Mykoly Yunkерова St.
Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist (Zverynetske Cemetery), 21(/1) Verkhnia St.
Church of the Nativity of Christ, 5 Obolonska Naberezhnа St.
Church of the Nativity of Christ, 33a Shchuseva St.
Church of St. Lazarus of the Four Days (Sovske Cemetery), 6 Koloskovа St.
Church of the Holy Martyrs Cosmas and Damian (Diagnostic Center of the Municipal Non-Profit Enterprise "Kyiv Municipal Clinical Hospital No. 8"), 8a Yuriia Kondratyuka St.
Church of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers (at Kyiv City Children's Clinical Hospital No. 1), 30 Bоhatyrska St.
Church of St. Demetrius of Rostov, 6 Shchekavytska St.
Church of Sts. Constantine and Helen, 6/8 Shchekavytska St.
Church of St. Luke of Crimea and the Venerable Agapitus of the Caves (in Bahrianyi Park), 40b Peremohy Ave. (38 Peremohy Ave.).
Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (Reception and Distribution Center for Children of the National Police of Ukraine in Kyiv), 14 Bondарsky Lane.
Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker on the Waters, 8 Naberezhno-Khreshchatytska St.
Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, 3 Yurkivska St.
Church in Honor of the Icon of the Mother of God, 12a Shchuseva St.
Church of St. Peter Mohyla, 20a Akademika Hrekova St.
Church of St. Theodosius of Chernihiv, 6/10 Kyianivsky Lane.
Church of St. Luke, Archbishop of Crimea, 13A Klovsky Uzviz St. (on the grounds of the Ukrainian Scientific and Practical Center for Endocrine Surgery, Transplantation of Endocrine Organs and Tissues of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine).
Church of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark, 2a Onore de Balzaka St.
Church of the Holy Martyr Tryphon, Serzha Lifaria St.
Church of the Holy Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg (Sviatoshynske Cemetery), 14a Koltseva Doroga St.
Church of the Holy Grand Martyr Barbara, 1a Zahorovska St.
Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, 3 Zaliznychne Shosse St.
Holy Protection Church (Priorka), 2a Mostytsky Lane.
Church of the Transfiguration of Christ, 68 Avtozavodska St.
Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord, 81 Yuriia Ilienka St.
Church of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh the Wonderworker, 47h Vyshhorodska St.
Church of the Prophet Elijah, 2 Pochainynska St.
Church of the "Helper in Childbirth" Icon of the Mother of God (Maternity Hospital No. 4), 16 Volodymyra Ivasiuka Ave.
Church of the "Joy of All Who Sorrow" Icon of the Mother of God (Babyn Yar), Hertsena Lane.
Church of the "Bogoliubskaya" Icon of the Mother of God, 23 Dehtiarivska St.
Church of the Martyr John the Warrior, 30 7th Linia St. (on the grounds of the sanatorium "War Veterans' Hospital 'Lisova Poliana'").
Church of the Martyr Raisa of Alexandria (Darnytske Cemetery), 1a Teplovozna St.
Church of the Holy Martyr Tatiana, 37a Pryrichna St.
Church in Honor of the Resurrection of Christ, 4a Raduzhna St.
Church of the "Joy of All Who Sorrow" Icon of the Mother of God (Berkovtsy Cemetery), 18 Stetsenko St.
Church of the Vilnius–Ostra Brama Icon of the Mother of God, entrance from Bulvarno-Kudriavska St., 20 Volodymyra Vynnychenka St.
Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Forest Cemetery), 6/18 Kraina St. (Plot 18).
Church of All Saints (Forest Cemetery), 3 Kraina St.
Church in Honor of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers, 30 Bоhatyrska St.
Church of the Assembly of Archangel Michael and All the Incorporeal Heavenly Powers, 6a Akademika Strazheska St.
Church of the Apostles Peter and Paul, 160 Building A Kyryllivska St.
Church in Honor of the Apostles Peter and Paul, 54a Oleksandra Brynzhavy St.
Church of Archangel Michael, 34 Liubomyra Huzara Ave.
Church of Archangel Michael (Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Hospital), 85a Vyshhorodska St.
Church of Prince Alexander Nevsky, 22 Simii Kulzhenko St.
Church in Honor of St. Joasaph of Belgorod, 12 Stetsenko St.
Holy Trinity Church, 4 Zhylianska St.
St. Macarius Church, 46 Stara Poliana St.
Church of the Venerable Theodore the Sanctified, 7 Ovruchska St.
Protection Cathedral, 5a Pryrichna St.
On September 18, 2023, Vasylchuk stated that churches that had been "constructed in Kyiv in violation of regulations" could be transferred for use to other denominations.
According to him, it would be the court that would issue a ruling on each of the UOC churches in Kyiv found to have committed violations during construction.
Vasylchuk noted that no one would demolish UOC churches in Kyiv, although the text of his draft provides for the "demolition" of churches that are "unauthorized constructions."
"The court will decide what to do with illegally constructed structures — transfer them to the city's balance sheet, to other religious organizations, or issue a different ruling. Each case will be considered individually!" he wrote.
At the same time, the Kyiv City Council deputy did not clarify how UOC churches that hold the status of architectural monuments could have been built "in violation of regulations": the Elijah Church on Podil, the Protection Church on Priorka, the Holy Cross Exaltation Church on Vozdvyzhenka, the Resurrection Church near the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, and others.
On September 19, 2023, the head of the Information Department of the UOC, Metropolitan Klyment, commented to SPZH on the draft by Kyiv City Council deputy Vadym Vasylchuk concerning the "inspection" of 74 churches in Kyiv.
According to the hierarch, such initiatives openly attest to the incitement of aggression toward UOC believers and promote in society the legislative establishment of religious segregation.
Metropolitan Klyment recounted that the list of churches cited in the draft text enumerates virtually all of Kyiv's historic sacred sites, which either were almost never closed or were transferred to the Church after closure during the Soviet era.
"Some deputy, who has evidently become a Kyivite only quite recently and does not know the history of the capital, claims that these churches were built in violation of documentation requirements and are situated on territory not approved by officials. The very fact of such statements is some kind of disgrace, speaking to the absurdity being imposed on society as a norm of life," the hierarch said.
Commenting on the deputy's statement that the churches could be transferred to other denominations, the hierarch posed the question: "If the state considers that an ancient church cannot belong to the UOC because its location was not approved by bureaucrats, then how can that very same church in that very same location belong to another denomination?"
"We see the same thing at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. The reserve administration is concerned that the UOC 'arbitrarily' and without the necessary documents constructed buildings on the grounds of the Lavra. And those same buildings are being sealed with the aim of transferring them to other organizations. Naturally, a question arises: why are the existing documents insufficient for the UOC, while other organizations may use church buildings without any documents at all? This disproportionate approach plainly amounts to the state lobbying the interests of some citizens to the detriment of the interests of other citizens who are identical before the law," he added.
On December 7, 2023, the draft resolution was returned to Vasylchuk by the Standing Commission of the Kyiv City Council on Architecture, Urban Planning and Land Relations.
This is evidenced by data from the official website of the Kyiv City Council.
(Source: Official website of the Kyiv City Council)
According to information on the official website of the Kyiv City Council, the draft resolution was withdrawn by Vasylchuk himself.
КУ ст. 35 (свобода вероисповедания) · ЕСПЧ ст. 9 · Нормы ООН