The Kyiv Economic Court has scheduled a court hearing on the dismantling of the illegally constructed pavilion of a "monastery" of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate on the territory of the National Museum of History of Ukraine for 10:30 a.m. on 8 February 2023, an LB.ua correspondent has reported from the courtroom.
The hearing was conducted by judge Dmytro Baranov. The plaintiffs were representatives of the National Museum of History of Ukraine and a representative of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy.
The defendant, Mykyta Chekman, requested that the court hearing be postponed due to his absence. The court denied the motion as the defendant's representative was present at the hearing. He also requested a second land examination. The judge dismissed the request.
As a reminder, the building, which belongs to the UOC-MP, was erected near the foundation of the Desyatynna Church in Kyiv in 2005. Despite the lack of permits, the chapel operated on the territory of the historical monument.
In 2018, the specialized commission of the Kyiv city council supported a petition to dismantle the chapel as an illegal "small architectural form." However, a Kyiv court suspended proceedings in the case of cancelling the registration of the title to the chapel. This was done on a formal basis of a petition from the religious community.
On 12 January, Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko wrote that the building should be dismantled. This is definitely the position of the ministry, he added.
He also added that since 2020, a lawsuit filed by the National Museum of History of Ukraine to remove obstacles to the use of the land plot by demolishing the unauthorized object has been ongoing.