From “FSS Agents” to Frontline Heroes: Mitrokhin on the Mobilization of UOC Clergy

Historian and sociologist Nikolai Mitrokhin has commented on Ukraine’s implementation of a policy, discussed since 2023, to create a list of clergy eligible for military exemption. According to him, the approved list of 7,700 “loyal” representatives from various denominations excludes priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which could lead to their mass mobilization. Mitrokhin links this initiative to former UOC advisor Yuriy Chernomorets, whom he considers the ideological architect of excluding the UOC from state protection. The historian shared his opinion on his Telegram channel.

He suggests that Ukraine’s Security Service may soon begin directing military enlistment offices to UOC clergy to ensure their conscription on legal grounds.

 “They made a list of 7,700 loyal clergy from all denominations. The expectation is that UOC priests will now be sent to the front legally. The SSU will guide the enlistment offices — and off it goes. We forget that under Poroshenko, UOC clergy were removed from the military and law enforcement because they were ‘FSS agents.’ Now the goal is to send as many ‘agents’ to the army as possible,” he notes.

Mitrokhin estimates that out of roughly 10,000 UOC clergy, about a thousand may actually be drafted. The rest, he believes, will be exempt due to age, family status, health, or will avoid service altogether. Some, he suggests, may even end up in prison as committed pacifists.

Only a portion of those mobilized will reach the front lines, he says. Around a hundred may be killed, and another hundred wounded. Many priests will seek non-combat roles — drivers, medics, cooks, logisticians — and, thanks to their pastoral experience, may earn respect among fellow soldiers.

 “Priests, whether in trenches or in the rear, will try to avoid killing — otherwise they can’t remain clergy. But as seasoned soul-guides, they won’t be idle. They’ll build authority. Especially since among those fighting, ‘there are no atheists,’ and many were baptized in the UOC,” Mitrokhin emphasizes.

He pays particular attention to the long-term consequences. In his view, the UOC will glorify fallen priests as heroes, while survivors will return to their parishes with medals and veteran status. This, he believes, could shift public perception of the UOC and strengthen its position in postwar Ukrainian society — especially in regions where its infrastructure remains intact.

Earlier, in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, an acute shortage of military chaplains leads to the fact that candidates for vacant positions are sought through job search sites. For example, the well-known Ukrainian platform Work.ua has 51 chaplaincy vacancies with salaries ranging from 15 to 100 thousand hryvnias. One of the few conditions is that you do not belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.