The Synodal Information and Education Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) reported on 21 February 2026 that a member of the Ukrainian parliament had published on his Facebook page a video address announcing his intention to have the brethren of the Myltsi St. Nicholas's Monastery in Volyn evicted because, in his words, the lease of the buildings had ended. He also stated his intention to hand the house to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and reported talks with its head and with its representatives in the region. The community stated that its presence in the monastery is lawful and that it is ready to defend its rights by legal means.
According to the rulings of the Commercial Court of the Volyn Region in case No. 903/638/26, the claim of the Volyn Regional Military Administration against the monastery was registered on 30 June 2026, and proceedings were opened on 8 July 2026. The administration asks the court to oblige the monastery to return to it four religious buildings in the village of Myltsi, which are architectural monuments, by vacating them and signing a transfer act. The ruling of 11 August 2026 sets out the grounds of the claim: the complex of religious buildings is in state ownership, and the agreement on its free use ceased on 31 December 2025. The case has not been decided, and the monastic community remains in the house.
Sources: Information and Education Department of the UOC, 21 February 2026; Kovel.media, 4 July 2026; Unified State Register of Court Decisions, ruling of the Commercial Court of the Volyn Region of 8 July 2026, case No. 903/638/26; Unified State Register of Court Decisions, ruling of 11 August 2026.
Correction. This item previously stated that the claim was filed on 4 July 2026 (the date of a press report) against representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and that the agreement expired on 1 January 2026. According to the rulings of the Commercial Court of the Volyn Region in case No. 903/638/26, the claim was registered on 30 June and proceedings were opened on 8 July 2026, the defendant is the monastery itself, the claim concerns four buildings, and the agreement, as set out in the grounds of the claim, ceased on 31 December 2025. The date of 21 February is now given as the date of the Church department's report on the deputy's video address; the lease reason is marked as his words; and the paragraph on his meetings of 19 March 2026, which rested on a single source, has been removed together with that source.
Correction, 2 October 2026. The headline called the claim “an eviction claim”: that is how the press and the deputy described it. According to the rulings of the Commercial Court of the Volyn Region in case No. 903/638/26, it is a claim to oblige the monastery to return property: the administration asks the court to oblige the monastery to return four religious buildings by vacating them and signing the transfer and acceptance act. The headline now names the claim as the court does.
