In the capital Pechersk, a resonant conflict over valuable church lands has continued for seven years: the reasons and course of the process
In the capital's center, Pechersk, a loud conflict over valuable church lands has been going on for seven years. Former pastor Vladimir Kunets accuses the current board of the Religious Organization “Charity Missionary Society “Word of Life” of unauthorized demolition of emergency structures owned by the society.
But the other side of the conflict claims: Mr. Kunets has no legal connection with the object; he was excommunicated from the religious organization due to abuse of church finances and property, as well as for public provocations against the All-Ukrainian Union of Evangelical Christian Baptist Churches.
So, what are the reasons for the scandal that is currently ongoing both in the public and in the courts? Who really owns church property and land worth tens of thousands of dollars in the prestigious Pechersky district of Kyiv?
StopCor carefully studied the case materials, which are in the public domain, and communicated with all conflicting parties to understand the situation.
So, a retrospective
Land and property that became a “bone of contention” between the former pastor’s “team” and the current board of the religious organization located on the street. Lomakovskaya, 64 (former Michurina, 64). This is an area in the very heart of Kyiv, not far from the Motherland museum complex, which offers beautiful views of the Dnieper and which Kievans nicknamed “Tsarskoe Selo”.
Near this address there is a decoration of the capital, a monumental church building of Evangelical Christian Baptists, popularly associated with its most famous parishioner, Alexander Turchinov. From 1992 to 2013, Baptists from all over the country, politicians and businessmen, as well as parishioners of the religious organization “BMT “Word of Life”, which was then headed by Vladimir Kunets, donated their own funds for its construction from 1992 to 2013.
Until 2009, Kunets directly headed the construction, which, along with donations, was entrusted to him by parishioners. Using his reputation as a Christian pastor and the unquestioning trust of Baptists, Vladimir Kunets did not report to anyone. But time put everything in its place: funds were allocated, but construction never moved forward. Exhausted by promises and the lack of any results, believers significantly reduced donations for construction and offered to attract a certified construction company.
Moreover, Ivan Kurovsky, a builder and philanthropist, was ready to complete the construction of the temple as a charity. But, probably anticipating the loss of control over funds, Vladimir Kunets announced to the congregation that “we did not pray for the construction project from Kurovsky, but prayed for what was there.” In other words, he categorically refused to involve professional builders in performing work, in particular, on a charitable basis.
But the Baptists’ trust in Kunz was undermined, so the parishioners fundamentally refused to uncontrollably finance the construction. Kunets realized that he had lost the trust of believers, and with it, further funding for the temple. Then he turned to the leadership of Evangelical Christian Baptists with the initiative to transfer the long-term construction to the ownership of the Union to complete the construction and cover the huge debts.
The WCC ECB did not immediately agree to such a proposal, given the colossal amount of finance required to complete the temple complex. But the need to complete the construction of the temple, which will become the heart of Baptist Christians in the capital, motivated the WCC ECB to support this initiative. In 2014, the religious community, led by Vladimir Yakovlevich Kunz, voluntarily handed over the unfinished ECB Union.
Vladimir Yakovlevich himself remained on the territory next to the temple, precisely at Lomakovskaya, 64. And from that moment, the WCC ECB directed all efforts to complete the construction of the temple, which was finally completed in 2018. But in 2017, on the eve of the commissioning of the Temple of the Peace of Love and Unity of Christians Kunets decided to take the almost completed church back. Of course, the leadership of the WCC ECB did not agree to his proposal. From that time on, a “split” occurred between Kunz and the ECB Union.
How did the conflict develop?
As noted, after the transfer of the unfinished building, Kunets settled down very close to the temple in a building that belonged to the Word of Life religious community and continued to collect money from believers.
Claiming to take away the temple complex from the All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of the ECB, Kunets begins to attack law enforcement agencies and even the president’s office with letters. His appeals speak of an alleged raider seizure of the temple and forceful pressure on it, behind which, in his opinion, is the leadership of the ECB, together with the famous Ukrainian Baptist politician Alexander Turchynov. Kunets hoped that by attracting the name of the oppositionist, he would force the authorities to intervene in this matter, breaking the law.
It didn't work. Then Kunets begins to humiliate and defame the leadership of the ECB through the media, hoping that the Baptists, who are accustomed to resolving everything peacefully, will return the temple complex to him in order to avoid a scandal. But the ECB leadership defended its position through the courts and, for misbehavior and financial abuse, deprived Kunz of his pastorate and excommunicated him.
After this decision, the religious organization “Word of Life” at a general meeting removes Kunz from the post of head of the organization, electing Peter Ilyin as its leader.
The new leadership of the religious organization not only never received a financial report from Kunz, but also found out that he had robbed the religious community. Thus, Kunets transferred the land located next to the temple and property belonging to the community to his son, daughter and grandson.
After many years of court hearings, the religious community was able to legally return the stolen land and property.
Kunets did not recognize the court decisions and continued to fight for the appropriation of land and property.
Numerous authorities and the media continue to receive letters on his behalf about raiding, the dismantling of illegally built structures and violations of the rights of believers.
In order not to talk in these appeals and letters about the fact that land and property were stolen from the religious community, he chose Baptist businessman Alexander Dubovoy, who at one time did a lot for the construction of the Temple and lives near the conflict zone, to play the role of raider. Because “a cruel raider-businessman takes away the last thing from a humble pastor and his family” looks quite believable and evokes sympathy.
In turn, the current president of the BMT RO “Word of Life” Petr Ilyin voices a version of events that refutes all accusations from Kunz.
He refers to the court verdict, according to which the former pastor has no legitimate grounds to claim property on the street. Lomakovskaya, 64 and the decision of the church meeting to fire Kunz through financial fraud.
“Kuntz’s fraud was exposed back in 2020 by church believers. The property that rightfully belonged to BMT RO Word of Life was appropriated by Kunz and his family. The court established that Kunets and his family have no relation to the BMT RO Word of Life, as well as to the property of our organization. But Kunz probably literally doesn’t care about the laws of Ukraine. Not only did he and his family develop an illegal scheme to appropriate real estate to a religious organization, but he is also sabotaging the court’s decision, provoking parishioners,” says Ilyin.
The head of the religious organization also points out the abuse of humanitarian aid provided to the church.
“The disorderly state on the Word of Life territory, which Kunets led to with his negligence and indifference, amazed everyone. There was a huge repository of humanitarian aid, which is now rotten and unusable. for years? We are really forced to attract security guards to maintain order through Kuntz’s provocations in the territory and conduct Christian services in peace and quiet,” he emphasized.
Vladimir Kunts has no legal evidence for his position, other than emotions and grievances. One of his main arguments is the support of the famous church figure Gregory the Commandant.
There is even information that Kunets and the Commandant, with the help of administrative resources, wanted to create a separate religious Union, splitting the AECB. But the corridors of power were not interested in this project.
We wondered who Gregory the Commandant is and what he is known for.
Grigory Komendant is the head of the Bible Society; before Ukraine gained independence, he headed the ECB Union of the entire Soviet Union. He graduated from the Moscow correspondence Bible courses - the only Protestant institution in the USSR. In 1994-2006 he headed the All-Ukrainian Union of Evangelical Christian-Baptist Associations. In 2001-2003 he was president of the European Baptist Federation, and in June 2007 he was elected president of the Ukrainian Bible Society (UBS). Grigory Ivanovich always supported those who were in power, remaining in leadership positions.
According to sources, during the Soviet period he was allegedly recruited by the KGB (the Russian FSB later became the successor to this organization) and as an agent even had the call sign “Bystry”.
We also turned to Gregory the Commandant himself for comment on this story. He confirmed that he really supported Vladimir Kunz during the construction of the church and even personally worked in it. At the same time, Grigory denies that he was recruited by the KGB.
“I wasn’t recruited. They recruited, they wanted. But I had meetings with their chief and he said that under no circumstances could I cooperate. Neither here, nor in Moscow when I worked there. Yes, they approached me, they really wanted to, they looked after me, but as for cooperation, there was absolutely no such thing,” he said.
The commandant also claims that he does not yet maintain direct ties with the aggressor country, although he has some indirect “support” from his co-religionists there.
I cannot maintain contacts now, because Russia and, unfortunately, our brotherhood do not quite occupy leading positions there. That's why I don't maintain any connections. I maintain relations with Europe and Asia. I was the president of an organization in Eurasia, which includes all countries. I was vice-president of the Baptist World Union. There I have support from Russia. Directly – none,” he comments.
Journalists nevertheless became more deeply interested in the person of Gregory the Commandant, and will soon find the answer to whether during the persecution of Christians in the USSR he really played a role in managing punitive processes. In other words, there is information that it was Grigory the Commandant who gave instructions and tips to the KGB which of the unwanted Christians should be sent to jail.
Themis set the final point in this confrontation, having objectively examined all the facts. And we, in turn, cannot judge who and how they live their lives - with dignity or not. But sooner or later the time comes for everyone to reap the fruits of their actions and be responsible for their actions...
