Earlier, we reported that the Rakhiv District Court of the Transcarpathian region sentenced Archimandrite Venedikt (Khromey), a priest of the Khust Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, who was tried for “propaganda of the communist regime.” As stated in the court’s verdict, Archimandrite Venedikt created a Facebook account, through which he “distributed images of communist symbols and the totalitarian regime.”
Transcarpathian court terminates criminal proceedings against archimandrite of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
The Transcarpathian court released Archimandrite Venedikt (Khromei), a cleric of the Khust Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, from serving his sentence. He had previously been convicted of “spreading totalitarian symbols.” The priest was charged under Part 1 of Article 436-1 of the Criminal Code for a Facebook post congratulating Victory Day, which he posted back in 2020. The archimandrite announced this on his Facebook page.
The priest had previously been found guilty and sentenced to three years’ probation, which was replaced by a one-year probationary period. After the probationary period ended, the probation service filed a motion in December 2024 to release the priest from punishment.
The Rakhiv District Court delayed the process for five hearings and then denied the service’s request. However, Archimandrite Venedikt’s lawyer filed an appeal, and as a result, the clergyman was released from punishment.
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