UOC priest being forcibly held by TRC in Ternopil Region
TRC. Photo: Mirror Weekly
On November 2, 2024, almost 55-year-old Archpriest Oleh Melnyk of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was forcibly conscripted in the Ternopil region. A video containing this information was posted on the Facebook page of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church. According to the information provided, the priest was stopped at a checkpoint and taken to the Territorial Recruitment Center (TRC).
Father Oleh remained at the TRC for over a day without food, and his phone was confiscated, depriving him of the opportunity to contact his family. According to a video posted online, one of the TRC workers assaulted the priest, after which his blood pressure spiked. Police officers who arrived at the scene took the victim's statement, but despite this, the UOC archpriest was not released and could not perform Sunday liturgy.
The video calls for prayers for Archpriest Oleh Melnyk, who says in the video that clergy should not be fighting with weapons: "We have a call from God – to be at war with the devil and to fight not only for ourselves but for the whole world, and to protect all people so that the Lord grants us victory over sin."
As previously reported by the UOJ, on October 25, Father Petro Cholak, dean of the Novovolynsk district of the Volodymyr-Volynsky Diocese of the UOC, was forcibly conscripted in Lutsk.
Read also
U.S. House of Representatives passes ban on sex-change surgeries for minors
The lower house of Congress supported an initiative limiting medical interventions that could have irreversible consequences for the health of minors.
Armenian Church to appeal to international bodies over government pressure
The decision was made by the Supreme Spiritual Council in Etchmiadzin against the backdrop of criminal cases, pressure on the clergy, and the state's attempts to interfere in church life.
Pashinyan's supporters attempt to storm Etchmiadzin Cathedral in Armenia
The confrontation around the Armenian Apostolic Church intensified after rebellious hierarchs called for the Catholicos's resignation and attempted to exert forceful pressure in Etchmiadzin.
Persecuted community of Maliatyntsi celebrates first patronal feast after seizure
In Bukovyna, the faithful of the St. Nicholas community in the village of Maliatyntsi celebrated the Feast Day of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of Myra in Lycia for the first time after the church seizure.
European authorities downplay scale of Christian persecution, report says
Human rights defenders reported an increase in attacks on believers in the EU and pointed out that official statistics do not reflect the real level of anti-Christian hostility.
Mukachevo Eparchy bishops congratulate orphaned children on St Nicholas Day
Metropolitan Theodore and Bishop Hilarion visited the “New Family” children’s shelter in Uzhhorod.