UOC cleric posthumously awarded "Honorary Citizen of the City of Sumy" title
The deceased UOC priest Oleksiy Kuznetsov. Photo: Sumy Eparchy press service
On May 7, 2025, by decision of an extraordinary session, Archpriest Oleksiy Kuznetsov, a clergyman of the Sumy Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), was posthumously awarded the city's highest honor – the title of "Honorary Citizen of the City of Sumy," as reported by the Sumy Eparchy's official website.
Archpriest Oleksiy Kuznetsov died on April 24, 2025, on the Sumy front while fulfilling his pastoral duty as part of the 252nd Separate Battalion of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The tragedy occurred just one day before his 28th birthday.
According to the Sumy Eparchy of the UOC, Father Oleksiy, in the whirlwind of war, voluntarily stood up to protect the lives of his brothers, refusing weapons and arming himself only with prayer, pastoral care, and sacrificial love.
"His feat is not only the heroism of a clergyman who cared for soldiers but, above all, the spiritual feat of a true shepherd who did not abandon his own even in the face of death," noted the Eparchy.
Metropolitan Yevlogiy, the clergy, and the faithful of the Sumy Eparchy expressed their gratitude to the city authorities, deputies, and everyone who supported this decision for the worthy commemoration of the fallen priest.
According to the regulations on honorary citizenship, the certificate of the award will be presented to the priest's family during a solemn ceremony.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that a military chaplain of the Sumy Eparchy of the UOC was killed on the front line.
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