Deacon of cathedral detained by military recruitment office in Sarny

Deacon Maksym Huzenko. Photo: UOJ

On June 14, 2025, officers from the Territorial Recruitment Center (TRC) detained Deacon Maksym Huzenko, a cleric of the Protection Cathedral in the Sarny Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), according to sources in the eparchy who spoke with the UOJ.

Fr. Maksym has now been held at the recruitment center for two days, and there has been no contact with him. Clergy and parishioners of the cathedral are requesting prayers for the deacon’s safe return to his family and parish.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that in Kremenets, the TRC also detained Archimandrite Paphnutiy, abbot of the Pochaiv Holy Spirit Skete. He was sent to a military unit in Rivne Oblast.

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