Court in Zakarpattia closes case against UOC archimandrite

Archimandrite Benedict (Khromiy) outside the courthouse. Photo: priest's Facebook page

In Zakarpattia Oblast, a court ruled to release Archimandrite Benedict (Khromiy) of the Khust Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from punishment in a criminal case over the alleged “dissemination of communist symbols.” The priest published the court ruling on his Facebook page on June 12, 2025.

Archimandrite Benedict expressed his gratitude to all who had prayed for him.

The cleric was charged under Part 1, Article 436-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine for using a Facebook frame with a Victory Day greeting, which he had posted back in 2020. He was found guilty and sentenced to a suspended term of three years, later replaced with one year of probation.

After the probationary year ended, the Probation Service filed a motion in December 2024 for the priest’s early release from punishment.

However, the court in Rakhiv delayed the process over five hearings and ultimately denied the request. The lawyer representing Fr. Benedict filed an appeal, which resulted in the clergyman being released from punishment.

As previously reported by the UOJ, the court had earlier fined the UOC archimandrite 60,000 hryvnias.

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