Lubinets accuses Ministry of Culture of delaying transfer of St. Nicholas Church to community
St. Nicholas Church (Photo: facebook.com/st.nicholas.kyiv)

The Roman Catholic Parish of St. Nicholas in Kyiv complained about the "long-term blocking" of the transfer of the Church of St. Nicholas to them. About said ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets, to which the parish appealed, and accused the Ministry of Culture of "delaying the process."

According to them, the church is in critical condition, but no measures are being taken, and its transfer is allegedly being sabotaged.

"The state of affairs is so terrible that the destruction can kill Ukrainian citizens. And the religious site is regularly visited by more than 600-700 people! And this story has been going on for a long time – almost 20 years," Lubinets said.

He noted that in 2005, the President instructed the government to transfer the church to the use of the religious community. In 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers redefined this task. But, according to Lubinets, it has not yet been fulfilled, and in 2025 the process continues to be delayed. Even despite the signed memorandum between the religious community and the Ministry of Culture.

According to the Ombudsman, the Dnipropetrovs'k District Administrative Court ordered the transfer of the religious building to the community. This decision has already entered into force and was confirmed on appeal, and the Supreme Court refused to open cassation proceedings. He noted that there are currently no legal obstacles.

Lubinets asked the Ministry of Culture about the status of the court decision, but, according to him, the ministry continues to "delay the process," in particular, sending additional requests to the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience regarding the status of the church.

"The reality is that the Ministry is actually sabotaging the execution of the court decision! Separately, our institution conducted a monitoring visit to the church – we recorded the critical technical condition of the building. It is practically in a state of emergency, and there are no proper fire and industrial safety measures," Lubinets says.

He called on the Ministry of Culture to immediately begin to enforce the court's decision, ensure the rights of the religious community and eliminate the dangerous technical condition of the Church of St. Nicholas!

Editorial LIGA.net asked the Ministry of Culture to clarify the situation.

  • In September 2021 flashed a fire in the Church of St. Nicholas, the fire raged on the first and second floors, spreading to the roof. The fire resulted in a unique organ is damaged and the interior of the church. Reason fire – a short circuit in the organ.
  • on December 20, 2024, from a Russian missile attack damaged stained glass facade on the building of St. Nicholas Church. The Ministry of Culture stated that based on authentic drawings restore stained glass composition of the church. It was approved restoration plan.
  • As of March 20, 2025, the windows of the church have been broken for three months were left uncleaned.