Yelensky informs UCCRO about clergy exemptions
Viktor Yelensky. Photo: DESS website
On March 18, 2025, Viktor Yelensky, head of the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS), held a working meeting with members of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO), reports the DESS website.
According to the report, “the key topic of discussion was the implementation of Government Resolution No. 76 of January 27, 2023, regarding the exemption of conscripted individuals, particularly clergy, in the context of mobilization.”
It is emphasized that the head of DESS “provided clarifications on this issue,” though the specifics of his explanations were not disclosed.
Additionally, Yelensky discussed border-crossing regulations for clergy with UCCRO members, as well as “the implementation of believers’ right to freedom of religion in accordance with Part Four of Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine.” However, the details of what this entailed were not revealed in the report.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that Yelensky was reappointed as the head of the State Service for Ethnopolitics.
Read also
Director of Orthodox school writes open letter to "investigator"
Anna Bolhova emphasized that God turns slander and lies directed against Christians into their victory.
In Austria, court recognizes Sharia norms in dispute between Muslims
The Vienna court's decision on the forced enforcement of religious arbitration has provoked a reaction from authorities and demands to legislatively exclude the application of Islamic norms.
Constantinople responds to Russia's criticism of Patriarch Bartholomew
Russians called the Patriarch of Constantinople "the devil incarnate" and "the antichrist in cassock".
Church celebrates Circumcision of the Lord
The Orthodox Church commemorates the Gospel event when, according to the Old Testament law, the eight-day-old infant Jesus Christ received circumcision.
Report: Finnish Orthodox Church continues to lose parishioners
Official data for 2025 indicates a continuing decline in the number of parishioners, which has only been partially slowed through new registrations.
Islamists kill 13 Christians in Nigeria
Armed Fulani herders carried out a series of attacks on Christian villages: civilians were shot in their homes, dozens of people went missing.