A meeting between clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the head of the State Service for Ethnopolitics took place in Zaporizhzhia

On November 13, 2026, a meeting was held in Zaporizhzhia between representatives of the clergy of the Zaporizhzhia Diocese and Viktor Yelensky, head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS). The event, initiated by Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol, served as a platform for open dialogue between the church and the state.

According to the Information and Education Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), more than forty clergy members took part in the discussion. The meeting was organized after the head of the DESS publicly declared his readiness for direct communication with representatives of the dioceses of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

During the discussion, Viktor Yelensky expressed his condolences regarding the tragic consequences of Russian aggression for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. According to the agency’s data, 25 clergy members have been killed since the full-scale invasion began, and more than 420 churches have been damaged or completely destroyed, a significant portion of which are located in the Zaporizhzhia region. At the conclusion of the meeting, the head of the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience provided detailed answers to questions from Metropolitan Luke and the clergy of the diocese.

As a reminder, earlier the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) officially accused the administration of the Zaporizhzhia Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of failing to comply with the requirement to sever ties with the Russian Orthodox Church and the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC.