“Without the UOC”: Representatives of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations discussed the mobilization of clergy with the deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine

On September 4, 2025, representatives of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations held a meeting with the deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Olena Kovalskaya. The reason for the meeting was the issue of mobilizing representatives of the religious sphere. Representatives of the UOC were not present at the meeting. This was reported by the website of the AUCCRO.

It is reported that during the meeting, the parties discussed a number of issues related to state-confessional relations in the context of current challenges. In particular, they discussed various aspects of the implementation of Resolution No. 76 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which regulates, among other things, the reservation of clergy. Examples of problematic cases related to the mobilization of clergy were cited, and possible ways to resolve them were proposed.

It is noteworthy that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, whose priests are most often detained by TRC employees and sent to serve in the military on the front lines, was not invited to the meeting.

We recall that on September 2, 2025, in the Rivne region, TRC employees forcibly mobilized the hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Bishop Seraphim (Kadubyansky) of Novovorontsov. Along with the bishop, his assistant, Hieromonk Gabriel (Kinaschuk), was also detained.