On March 20, 2024, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine did not support a parliamentary request to the President of Ukraine from a group of people’s deputies of Ukraine (R. Tistyk, O. Savchuk and others - only 6 deputies) regarding the returning of the Church of St. Nicholas in Kyiv to the religious community of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine. The deputies' request was supported by 205 deputies, instead of the required 226 deputies.

In their request to the President of Ukraine, the deputies put into account, in particular, that:

"Unlike other churches in Kyiv, the state did not return the Church of St. Nicholas to the Catholic community, although the return of the parish church was promised back in 1991. Then there were Decrees of the President of Ukraine regarding the procedure for returning the church in 2005. During this time, 18 ministers of culture changed.

... The purpose of the church as a religious building is primarily not cultural, but religious. Both secular and religious public have been waiting for this event for a long time. This church was built at the expense of the faithful of the Roman Catholic community."

Recently, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, instructed the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine to return the church of St. Nicholas to the religious community of the Roman Catholic Church for permanent use before May 1, 2024.

We recall, that according to Application by Ukraine for membership of the Council of Europe (Opinion No. 190 (1995) of September 26, 1995, during the accession to the Council of Europe, Ukraine assumed obligations in the religious sphere, everything regarding the legal solution of the issue of the return of church property.

Photo by Vechirnii Kyïv