DESS approves criteria for clergy exemption from mobilization

Illustrative photo: loda

On February 24, 2025, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) published a decree regarding "Certain Issues of Reserving Clergy Liable for Military Service During Mobilization and Wartime."

The decree, registered with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on February 19, establishes criteria for reserving clergy and determining a religious organization as critically important for the functioning of the economy and ensuring public life during a special period.

The DESS decree applies to clergy members who are leaders of religious organizations and whose data is recorded in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs, and Public Organizations, as well as those working under an employment contract within religious organizations.

A religious organization is considered critically important if it meets several criteria simultaneously.

First, it must have been registered in the Unified State Register no later than December 26, 2024.

Additionally, the religious organization must not be included in the list of religious organizations in Ukraine affiliated with a foreign religious organization (as defined in Article 51 of the Law of Ukraine "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations") whose activities are prohibited in Ukraine.

Furthermore, the legal entity must not be located in territory temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, among other requirements.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that a member of parliament stated that only UOC clergy who transfer to the OCU would receive exemptions.

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