UOC protodeacon illegally detained by TRC in Khmelnytskyi

Protodeacon Andriy. Photo: UOC Khmelnytskyi Eparchy's press service

The press service of the Khmelnytskyi Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church reports the illegal detention of one of its clergy – Protodeacon Andriy (Arthur Mankevych), a full-time deacon of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Khmelnytskyi.

On June 11, 2025, around 7:00 p.m., the protodeacon was returning home after an evening service when he was detained by representatives of the Territorial Recruitment Center (TRC) in the city of Khmelnytskyi. Without explanation, he was taken to the TRC facility in the Ozerna district, where he is currently being unlawfully held.

Fr. Andriy presented an official decree confirming his assignment as a deacon of St. Nicholas Cathedral and his clerical ID from the UOC’s Khmelnytskyi Eparchy. However, TRC personnel refused to recognize these documents.

Despite his explanations regarding health conditions and the need to collect documentation proving his unfitness for military service, he was forcibly transported overnight from June 11 to 12 between various military units across Ukraine. He is now reportedly locked inside a TRC barracks in Khmelnytskyi.

The eparchy’s press service reminded the public that, according to international law and conventions, clergy are exempt from military conscription and are not permitted to bear arms. These actions, they noted, constitute not only a violation of human rights but also a blatant disregard for the spiritual mission of the clergy.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the TRC had detained the abbot of the Pochaiv Holy Spirit Skete in Kremenets and later transported him to a military unit in Rivne Oblast.

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