In the Mukachevo Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, a cleric who defected to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine was barred from ministering

Metropolitan Theodore of Mukachevo and Uzhhorod has officially barred Archimandrite Seraphim (Rastvorov), who previously served at the Pokrovsky Monastery in Rakoshino, from performing priestly duties. The reason for this decision was the cleric’s transfer to the jurisdiction of the OCU, which the diocese regarded as a violation of church discipline.

, the administrator of the Mukachevo Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), signed a corresponding decree in which the priest’s actions were characterized as a gross violation of his priestly oath and a departure into schism. According to the document, the ban on conducting divine services will remain in effect until the cleric fully repents and returns to the fold of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

It is known that Archimandrite Seraphim submitted a request for transfer addressed to Viktor Bedia, head of the Mukachevo-Carpathian Diocese of the OCU. This request was granted on September 14, after which the cleric was assigned to chaplaincy service. Earlier, media reports also indicated that the clergyman was involved in activities related to smuggling draft dodgers across the state border.