Canonical priests targeted for military draft in Western Ukraine

Transcarpathia Province, Ukraine, September 26, 2024

spzh.live spzh.live     

Military recruitment centers in the Western Ukrainian province of Transcarpathia are gathering names and information specifically of priests of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

According to a document obtained by the Telegram channel Dozor, the head of a local military recruitment center wrote to the head of one of the local territorial communities:

I request you to provide a list of clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) who are within the responsibility of your territorial community in printed format and electronic version by 6:00 PM on 09.23.2024.

The recruitment center asks for names, dates of birth, addresses of registration and residence, and phone numbers for the priests.

The channel comments: “In recent times, such lists were called ‘execution lists.’ This is a very disturbing step in the campaign of discrimination and persecution of the largest Christian denomination in Ukraine.”

“It seems that the great popular support for the UOC demonstrated by Transcarpathia interferes with the plan to destroy the Church in this region. Therefore, government representatives are preparing for personalized terror,” Dozor warns.

Dozor (Telegram) Dozor (Telegram)     

Earlier this month, OrthoChristian reported that Archimandrite Varlaam (Didenko) of the Khust Diocese’s Holy Transfiguration Monastery in the village of Tereblia, Transcarpathia Province, was drafted into the army.

And earlier this week, two UOC priests, Archpriest Vasyl and Fr. Stepan Guk, were seized by representatives of the local military recruitment center right after celebrating the Divine Liturgy, reports the Union of Orthodox Journalists. Hundreds of Orthodox faithful gathered outside the recruitment center, protesting the move against the priests.

The priests were eventually released but ordered to return to their local recruitment centers later.

Follow OrthoChristian on Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!

9/26/2024

Subscribe
to our mailing list

* indicates required
×