The DESS released data on the number of clergy members registered in Ukraine

To date, 7,907 members of the clergy have been exempted from mobilization in Ukraine, according to Vyacheslav Gorshkov, head of the Department for Religious Affairs of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS), Vyacheslav Gorshkov, during an appearance on the program “Cabinet of Experts.”

According to the data presented, the total number of religious organizations that have been granted “critically important” status is 11,220. However, as the official emphasized, the actual number of clergy exempted from mobilization is significantly lower than this figure. Gorshkov noted that the agency is unlikely to reach the figure of 10,000 people, since the number of clergy reserved has never reached the level of the total number of critical organizations.

Currently, the right to be reserved applies to three main categories: leaders of religious organizations; officially employed clergy members who were on the payroll as of November 17, 2025; and clergy members sent on long-term overseas assignments. At the same time, a representative of the State Employment Service clarified that parishes registered after November 17, 2025, are not eligible to reserve positions for their staff.

In addition, the official acknowledged that communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) face difficulties. According to him, the established state criteria prevent them from reserving their clergy due to allegations of affiliation with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC).

As a reminder, on August 17, 2026, in the village of Khvorostov in the Volyn region, Archimandrite Anthony (Dzhezhela), the rector of the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross, was detained and forcibly mobilized. The Volodymyr-Volyn Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church confirmed the incident and called on the faithful to offer their prayers in support of the clergyman.