Without UOC: DESS announces new stage of clergy exemptions

War in Ukraine, illustrative image. Photo: open sources

The State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) has opened the second stage of the reservation process for clergy employed in critically important religious organizations, according to the agency’s official website.

On November 8, 2025, the DESS order “On Approving the Procedure for Submitting Documents for Reserving Clergy During Mobilization and Wartime” came into force, establishing the mechanism for submitting exemption documents.

The first stage covered only the heads of religious organizations – one per organization listed in the Unified State Register. The new stage now extends the reservation process to all other clergy employed under labor contracts in religious organizations deemed critically important and included in the official list.

Notably, as before, clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) are excluded from the reservation list. According to DESS official Vyacheslav Horshkov, the agency cites unresolved issues related to Law No. 2662-VIII on the renaming of religious groups whose leadership centers are allegedly located in an aggressor state. To apply for reservation, the UOC would need to comply with this law – which in practice means acknowledging “affiliation” with the Russian Orthodox Church, the official noted.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that UOC Chancellor Metropolitan Anthony called the mobilization of UOC clergy a deliberate desecration of holy orders.

Read also