Head of Rivne-Volyn Diocese of OCU “bans” 26-year-old monastery abbot from ministry

The head of the Rivne-Volyn Diocese of the OCU, Gabriel Kryzyna, has banned from ministry the 26-year-old abbot of the Holy Trinity Monastery of the OCU in the village of Balashivka, Rivne district, Rivne region. As reported in the published decree, “hieromonk” Nikolai Vasevich was punished for his unwillingness to carry out religious activities, regular lies and failure to comply with the orders of Gabriel Kryzyna. The document was published on the Facebook page of the Rivne-Volyn Diocese of the OCU.

“For the systematic failure to perform services, for systematic lies and failure to fulfill the blessings of the ruling bishop (in particular, 39 and 55 Apostolic Canons, as well as Canon 8 of the 4th Ecumenical Council), Hieromonk Nikolai Vasevich is banned from priesthood from March 3 to June 8. […] Hieromonk Mykola is blessed to perform sexton’s obedience in the Holy Trinity Balashevsky Monastery, to conduct Sunday school classes and to fill the monastery’s information resource on the Internet,” — reads Kryzyna’s decree.

Interestingly, on the website of the Rivne-Volyn Diocese of the OCU, the above-mentioned “hieromonk” Mykola Vasevych has his own profile, from which one can learn that the “abbot” of the Trinity Monastery of the OCU in the village of Balashivka in the Rivne region is 26 years old, and he took the priesthood and monastic vows in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Thus, the OCU is facing a crisis in monastic ministry if it is practiced to appoint a 26-year-old young man who took monastic vows less than a year ago to the position of monastery abbot.