Cleric in Volyn promises to "ordain" deacon for $10,000

Detention in Volyn. Photo: Suspilne

In Volyn, law enforcement officers exposed a 45-year-old cleric of one of the denominations who promised a deferment from mobilization through "ordination as deacons" for 10 thousand US dollars.

On September 22, this was reported to "Suspilne" by Yulia Shevchenko, a representative of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office in the field of defense of the Western region.

Neither the locality where the incident occurred nor the eparchy involved was disclosed by Yulia Shevchenko, who stated that revealing these details could harm the pre-trial investigation. At the same time, journalists, citing sources, claim that the cleric in question belongs to the “Vladimir-Volyn Eparchy”.

Since the UOC clergy are not granted mobilization exemptions and cannot provide such “services”, it can be assumed that the individual in question is a “cleric” of the OCU.

"To give such ordination the appearance of authenticity, the father offered to purchase special clothing and also recommended studying certain biblical texts. Part of the bribe amounting to 80 thousand UAH was received on a bank card, the remaining part – 8 thousand dollars – in cash during a personal meeting," said Yulia Shevchenko.

The suspect was detained on September 17, reports Yulia Shevchenko. During searches at the priest's home and in vehicles, communication devices, bank cards, and other material evidence were found.

The cleric was charged under Part 3 of Article 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. It concerns receiving undue benefit for influencing officials, combined with extortion. The article's sanction provides for up to 8 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.

The court chose a preventive measure for him – night house arrest.

Earlier, UOJ wrote that, according to Yelensky, to avoid mobilization, UOC clerics need to change their denomination.

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