Court hearing in Upper Lavra case postponed again
The appeal hearing was adjourned after the monastery’s legal team obtained grounds to seek the recusal of the panel of judges.
On March 19, 2026, another hearing was held at the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal in Kyiv in the case concerning the right to use the churches of the Upper Lavra. Following the session, the court postponed further consideration of the case until April 2 at 3:00 p.m. This was reported by the Fortetsia Lavra Telegram channel.
During the proceedings, the monastery’s lawyers filed a number of motions seeking to involve third parties who had not participated in the court of first instance. Among other things, the defense asked that a hieromonk of the monastery be joined to the case, but the judges rejected the request. Representatives of the National Preserve objected to the participation of new parties in the proceedings and asked the court to dismiss the relevant motions.
The decision to postpone the hearing was made after new facts became known to the defense. On that basis, the Lavra’s lawyers intend to file a motion seeking the judges’ recusal, and for that reason they asked the panel to suspend the hearing.
As previously reported, the court proceedings over the Lavra brotherhood’s right to use the Dormition and Refectory churches have been ongoing since 2023.
