OCU “hierarch” dismissed for selling draft dodgers fake clergy IDs
Mykhailyuk at an OCU synod meeting. Photo: OCU
On February 2, 2026, the OCU synod removed “Bishop” Kyrylo Mykhailyuk from the Uzhhorod–Khust see for trading in counterfeit certificates of priests and deacons, which men allegedly bought in order to evade mobilization.
Dumenko’s leadership concluded that Mykhailyuk’s actions were harming the OCU and exiled him to a monastery in the village of Shypyntsi in Bukovyna. He was also removed from the Commission for the Canonization of Saints and barred from performing ordinations.
As a reminder, Mykhailyuk reportedly sold more than 20 fake certificates before he was exposed by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). After the bogus certificates were issued, the newly minted “priests” were, on Mykhailyuk’s instructions, added to the eparchy’s website. The investigation into the “bishop” is pending.
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