Court prevents seizure of the UOC temple in Dnepr

In Dnepr, the Economic Court of Appeal decided to return without consideration the appeal of human rights defender Alexander Gumirov, who challenges the transfer of Briansk church (in the Soviet time it used to be an organ hall) to the UOC, writes Radio Svoboda.

As Gumirov himself reported on August 17, the court ruling said that the submission of the appellate complaint violated the deadline. The resolution also states that "the court does not see the validity of the reason for missing the deadline for filing an appeal".

"In accordance with Part 1 of Article 93 of the Economic Procedural Code of Ukraine, an appeal is submitted to the local economic court within ten days, and to the local economic court - within five days from the date of their announcement by the local economic court," the resolution of the Court of Appeal says.

Dnepropetrovsk House of Organ and Chamber Music is located in the building of St. Nicholas (Briansk) Cathedral, built with the funds of the Bryansk metallurgical plant in the early twentieth century. The Orthodox community belonged to the cathedral for more than ten years. In the Soviet era, the asset was taken in favor of the state, and in the 1980s there was arranged a concert hall with a unique organ.

In March 2011, the building of the organ hall became the property of the UOC community, which under the terms of the amicable agreement, approved by the Economic Court of the Dnepropetrovsk region on August 26, 2010, undertakes to ensure the unhindered functioning of the House of Organ and Chamber Music. By the assurances of Metropolitan of Dnipropetrovsk and Pavlograd Irenaeus, the organ will remain untouched in the upper part of the temple until the organ house of music has been built in the city, where the instrument can be transferred to.

Since March 14, 2013, regular worship services have been held in the basement of the temple.