Ukraine Court Opens UOC Ban Case, Then Postpones Hearing to Dec. 11

Overview

• The first hearing in Kyiv on the state bid to prohibit the Ukrainian Orthodox Church began on October 30 and was adjourned to December 11, according to UOC lawyer Nikita Chekman.
• Lawyers for the church objected after noting the judge read names of prospective third parties from a document labeled “Ukhvala,” which the judge described as a draft.
• The State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience filed the suit on August 29 seeking to ban the church and transfer its assets to the state.
• The filing followed the agency’s August 27 decision designating the UOC as affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church, a determination the UOC has challenged in a countersuit.
• Crowds of UOC supporters gathered outside the court as proceedings began, while a prior September 30 start date was postponed due to the judge’s illness.