Church of Saints Vladimir and Olga of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, known as the Tithe Church
The church's address: Kyiv, Volodymyrska Street, 2
Attempts by authorities and activists to destroy the Vladimir-Olginsky, or Tithe Church of the UOC, began in 2018. The small church was built in 2008 near the site of the first Tithe Church in Kyiv, which was destroyed first by the Tatar-Mongols and then by the Bolsheviks.
The city government issued a permit for the church's construction, but failed to process all the necessary paperwork. And after 2014, they refused to continue the process altogether.
As a result, the church remained half-completed. This was used to justify its future destruction.
In 2018, the Ukrainian History Museum, on whose grounds the small church was located, demanded its demolition.
The church has survived several attempted raids by activists, arson, and vandalism.
On the night of May 17, 2024, the Ukrainian authorities launched a special operation to destroy the church.
🔴On the night of January 25, 2018, two men, approximately 35-40 years old, attempted to set the church on fire.
They climbed onto the roof of the church, poured gasoline, and set it on fire. Miraculously, a major fire did not start, and the fire extinguished itself.
That same day, a group of activists from the nationalist extremist organization "C14" approached the UOC Church of the Tithes. The radicals recorded their actions on video.
At the church, they shouted slogans like "Get out with the Moscow priest!", pasted propaganda leaflets on the church, and attempted to enter.
The C14 activists explained their actions by saying they "came to dismantle an illegally constructed structure on land that had been seized."
🔴On February 1, 2018, at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada committee on the topic of "Illegal construction on the grounds of the National Museum of Ukraine," a man identifying himself as a representative of the Kyiv community stated that even if the authorities do nothing, "activists" will still emerge to demolish the Church of the Tithes.
🔴On February 3, 2018, believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church gathered for a prayer service at the Church of the Tithes.
The monastery's brethren called on parishioners to unite to protect the church from radicals.
Earlier, extremist nationalist groups announced a violent seizure of the church.
Only the presence of hundreds of Orthodox Kyiv residents at a prayer service outside the church prevented the radicals from committing a crime. Due to threats from extremists, the prayer vigil at the Church of the Tithes lasted all night.
🔴On February 6, 2018, Archpriest Alexander Bakhov, head of the UOC Legal Department, presented the documents on the basis of which the church was built.
"I would like to draw attention to the fact that in 2000 and 2004, the President of Ukraine issued orders regarding the restoration of the Church of the Tithes on this site," said Archpriest Alexander Bakhov. "The first order from 2000 speaks of the restoration of the Church of the Tithes, while paragraph 2 of the 2004 order speaks of the construction of a memorial chapel at the Church of the Virgin Mary of the Tithes. These are the documents that preceded the restoration of the monastery and the chapel on the grounds of the Church of the Tithes."
The head of the UOC Legal Department emphasized that in this matter, one cannot rely on emotions, but only on documents.
"Regarding the question of legality or illegality, there are many different opinions based on certain assumptions," Father Alexander emphasized. "Some say 'legal,' others 'illegal.' But we must rely on the documents. Currently, the property rights register for real estate lists the chapel as the property of the religious community of the UOC 'Tithe Temple.' It clearly states the location of this temple and its name. The basis for this was a 2012 court decision. Specifically, the court decision outlined the circumstances that formed the basis for this ownership. These circumstances are still valid and have not been overturned, and the assertion that the construction is illegal is untrue."
Archpriest Alexander Bakhov also commented on the issue of the community's registered address and the location of the chapel.
"Regarding the legal address: there is a religious community registered as a legal entity. "Its legal address may be anywhere other than its actual ownership of other property," Father Alexander explained. "For example, they may own or use a refectory, or one church, or another church, an assembly hall, a Sunday school... And they may be located at different addresses, yet still belong to a religious community. There are no contradictions. Furthermore, it's worth noting that the religious community is registered; it has its own charter, which is registered with state authorities. This isn't just some unregistered monastery that can't own a chapel. There is a registered religious community that has ownership rights to the Church of the Tithes, which is located at 2 Vladimirskaya Street."
🔴On February 7, 2018, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine ordered the National Museum of the History of Ukraine (NMHU) to vacate the land currently occupied by the Tithe Monastery through the courts.
The corresponding document was posted on the Ministry of Culture's website.
(Source: UOJ)
🔴On February 9, 2018, at a meeting of the Kyiv City Council's Standing Committee on Urban Development, Architecture, and Land Use, all 18 members present supported a petition calling for the demolition of the Tithe Church.
Deputies recommended that Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko support the petition and "instruct the structural divisions of the Kyiv City Council's executive body to take all measures required by current legislation aimed at eliminating violations as soon as possible."
🔴On March 18, 2018, a small group of right-wing radicals came to the walls of the Tithe Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Monastery with the intention of staging a "performance."
The activists lit flares and began shouting "Out with the FSB from Ukraine," "Crimea is ours," and "Glory to the nation – death to the enemies."
They began asking a priest who had come out in response to the shouts if he knew that today was the anniversary of the occupation of Crimea.
Hearing in response that the priest considered Crimea to be Ukrainian, they began accusing his "colleagues," in particular the abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan Pavlo of Vyshgorod and Chernobyl, of not considering Crimea to be Ukrainian. However, they were unable to repeat what Bishop Pavlo had said.
When asked about the purpose of their visit, they stated that the monastery had been built without documents, and when they heard that the documents were available, they began to claim that they had recently been obtained through corruption.
Finally, complaining about the cold and seeing parishioners beginning to gather at the monastery, the right-wing radicals retreated.
🔴On November 13, 2018, the Kyiv District Administrative Court upheld the UOC religious community's right to build a church.
MP Ihor Lutsenko, who filed the lawsuit against the parish, promised to appeal.
🔴On February 5, 2019, Bishop Gideon (Charon) delivered an official appeal of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and members of Congress.
Bishop Gideon (Charon), Vicar of the Kyiv Metropolitanate and Abbot of the Tithes Monastery of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, informed the US Congress of the discrimination against the Church by the Ukrainian authorities.
🔴On February 8, 2021, a Kyiv court resumed hearings on the case regarding the demolition of the Church of the Tithes and the cancellation of the state registration of ownership of it.
The lawsuit states that the National Museum of the History of Ukraine is asking the Commercial Court to remove the obstacles by ordering the religious community of the Church of the Tithes of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Shevchenkivskyi District of Kyiv to vacate "the illegally occupied land plot of 133.2 square meters by demolishing the illegally constructed real estate at its own expense and, at its own expense, returning the land plot to its previous condition," and to cancel state registration number 1788799 of ownership of the real estate.
The Kyiv Commercial Court ordered a forensic land-technical assessment to determine whether the church is actually located on museum grounds.
(Source: Registry of Court Decisions)
🔴On January 12, 2023, then-Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkachenko announced the demolition of the Church of the Tithes of the Holy Mother of God, calling it an unauthorized construction project of the UOC.
"The unauthorized seizure of the land began in 2008. Initially, the structure consisted of three interconnected kiosks. In 2012, under Yanukovych, the 'legalization' of the illegal construction began. The religious organization in question never received any construction permits, nor any permits for land use. The building itself was constructed without an approved design or construction permits. It was never commissioned in accordance with established procedures," the minister wrote.
Tkachenko said that since 2020, a lawsuit has been pending against the National History Museum of Ukraine seeking to remove obstacles to land use by demolishing the unauthorized structure.
"The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine is involved in the case as a third party and is facilitating this process." The examination has now been completed, and the next court hearing is scheduled for January 18, 2023, so there is reasonable hope that the dispute will soon be resolved legally,” he said.
🔴On February 15, 2023, the Kyiv Commercial Court ordered the demolition of the Tithes Monastery building of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The court ruled that the placement of a church on a museum plot of land contradicts its intended use. This violates the requirements of paragraph "a" of Part 1 of Article 91 of the Land Code.
(Source: Telegram channel of former Minister of Culture of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko)
🔴On September 14, 2023, the Kyiv Court of Appeals rejected the appeal of the Tithes Monastery community in Kyiv and ordered the authorities to demolish the church.
"The Northern Commercial Court of Appeals reviewed the appeal of the Tithe Temple Religious Community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church against the decision of the Kyiv Commercial Court dated February 15, 2023, in case No. 910/9385/20 and confirmed the obligation to vacate the site of the illegally constructed church," the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture stated.
The Ministry of Culture called the court's decision "another victory in the fight for our cultural heritage" and thanked the judges "for their fair decision."
🔴On April 26, 2024, it was revealed that the parish of the Kyiv Diocese of the OCU in the village of Knyazhychi of the Kyiv region are asking the National Museum of the History of Ukraine to hand over the remains of the UOC's Tithe Church after its dismantling.
OCU activists believe the stolen remains of the church will be useful in the construction of their own building.
🔴Late in the evening of May 16, 2024, the area around the Church of Saints Vladimir and Olga of the Tithe Monastery of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was completely cordoned off by police and military personnel.
All approaches and stairways were blocked. Neither the brethren nor the monastery's parishioners were allowed anywhere near their holy relic.
Curfew was approaching.
According to eyewitnesses, signal jammers were installed near the temple to make documenting the crime as difficult as possible.
Later, a convoy of empty trucks headed toward the temple grounds.
Behind the cordon of armed police, heavy equipment began to operate.
Within hours, the Orthodox church was destroyed.
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