UOC Metropolitan Theodosius spoke at the UN, claiming discrimination in the mobilization of priests

Metropolitan Feodosiy (Snigyryov) of Cherkasy and Kanev spoke at a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council, where he said that the rights of clerics of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) were violated during the mobilization process. According to him, the selective deprivation of UOC clerics of the right to deferment, which is granted to other confessions, is direct discrimination and violates Ukraine’s international obligations to ensure equality of all religions.

According to the Telegram channel Cherkassy Blagovestnik, Metropolitan Theodosius addressed the participants of the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in the format of a video statement on October 3, 2025. He stressed that the refusal to grant deferment from mobilization exclusively for one religious group contradicts the norms of international law and Ukraine’s obligations to protect human rights on its territory.

This statement was a continuation of the systematic work to protect the rights of believers at the international level. Earlier, thanks to the Metropolitan’s appeals and the support of the human rights alliance «Church against Xenophobia and Discrimination», seven UN Special Rapporteurs had already issued a communication conclusion. It recorded violations of the rights of UOC believers, including in the framework of criminal cases brought for preaching and defending the canonical positions of the church.

This UN opinion is legally binding for Ukraine and can be used by lawyers to defend believers in courts. The document explains that international law protects freedom of speech, including criticism of state policy and statements about the «non-canonicity» of other confessions. It is emphasized that criminal liability is imposed only for direct calls to violence, which the hierarchs of the UOC allegedly did not allow.

UN experts believe that even harsh and sensitive rhetoric is covered by freedom of expression. Thus, convictions against UOC clerics and believers for their statements may be overturned in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) as violating conventional norms. The human rights activities of Metropolitan Theodosius, as noted, have already led to concrete legal results in the international arena, and it is expected that the situation with the mobilization of UOC clerics will cause a similar reaction.

Earlier we reported that Metropolitan Feodosiy (Snigirev) of Cherkassy and Kanevsk received an official invitation to Geneva to testify at the UN as a witness in cases of human rights violations in Ukraine. He was to provide personal explanations to the UN Special Rapporteurs, as well as to the Independent International Commission of Inquiry into violations against believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. However, the Ukrainian court did not authorize the bishop to travel abroad, stating that he could participate in online events.