Head of State Ethnopolitics: There is a lack of chaplains in Ukraine
Head of the State Ethnopolitics Viktor Yelensky. Photo: My.ua
The head of the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, Viktor Yelensky, says that Ukraine still lacks military chaplains. He stated this during the national telethon.
“We, the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff, want these people to get the necessary skills. A chaplain is not a combatant, he does not pick up a weapon, but he must be able to at least defuse this weapon, he must be able to launch an armored personnel carrier, he must have medical, ethical and other skills,” Yelensky said.
At the same time, the official said that he did not know how long it would take to train chaplains, since military training is only the last stage in the service for which priests have been preparing all their lives.
As the UOJ reported, the UOC did not receive a single chaplaincy mandate; Yelensky said that in order to receive it, the priest needs to leave the UOC.
Read also
OCU “hierarch” selling fake ID documents sent to pre-trial detention center
The Ivano-Frankivsk court has chosen a preventive measure for the OCU "bishop" suspected of issuing fictitious ordination certificates for the rank of deacon to evade mobilization.
Court postpones hearing in Upper Lavra case
The next hearing on the issue of allowing the brethren of the Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery of the UOC access to the churches of the Upper Lavra will take place on March 12, 2026.
In Chernihiv, Jehovah’s Witness believer sentenced to 5 years for AWOL
The Kozelets District Court of Chernihiv Region found the man guilty of unauthorized abandonment of a military unit and sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment.
DESS initiates lawsuit to liquidate Korets Monastery
The State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) is seeking the liquidation of the Holy Trinity Korets Convent of the UOC.
His Beatitude Onuphry serves litiya for fallen soldiers
On the fourth anniversary of the full-scale war, the Primate of the UOC led a memorial service and blessed church-wide prayers for peace and for Ukraine’s defenders.
Zelensky prays with Jews, Muslims, Catholics, OCU, and UGCC at Kyiv Sofia
At the event in St. Sofia of Kyiv, Sheikh Ahmed Tamim asked Allah for “victory over the enemy for the sake of Muhammad, Jesus, and Moses.”