TRC representatives detain Pochaiv Lavra hierodeacon
Hierodeacon Olympiy (Khrashchevsky). Photo: UOJ
On May 15, at the Ukrainian border while entering from Georgia, representatives of the Territorial Recruitment Center (TRC) detained Hierodeacon Olympiy (Khrashchevsky).
According to UOJ sources, the 45-year-old cleric, who has health problems, is currently being held at the TRC in the town of Kelmentsi.
Father Olympiy is a tonsured monk of the Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra. He spent the last six years in the mountains of Abkhazia, pursuing the ascetic life of a desert-dweller.
The hierodeacon intended to return to his monastery – the Holy Spirit Skete in Pochaiv – to continue his monastic service, but on his way to the shrine he was detained.
As previously reported by the UOJ, the TRC detained an archimandrite of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv. While monastics devote their lives to prayer, their spiritual status is ignored during mobilization.
Read also
Bulgaria secures exclusion of Patriarch Kirill from EU sanctions
Bulgaria’s prime minister said the European Union accepted Sofia’s demand to exclude the ROC Primate from the 21st package of sanctions against Russia.
Rainbow glass sculpture of Christ installed in former Czech Catholic church
A rainbow-colored sculpture of Jesus Christ more than two meters tall has been installed in a former Catholic church in Všekary in the Plzeň Region.
Bulgarian priest condemns Church’s silence over murder of Sviatohirsk monk
Bulgarian Orthodox cleric Vladimir Doychev called the lack of a Church response to the death of Monk Varsonofiy a betrayal.
Vatican on Ukraine diplomacy: "The results are rather limited"
The Vatican has pledged to continue its diplomatic efforts despite the lack of progress toward ending the war in Ukraine.
Volyn TRC explains mobilization of UOC cathedral deacon in Volodymyr
The Volyn TRC says no force was used against the UOC deacon and that he was eligible for mobilization because he had no valid exemption or deferment.
Mukachevo Metropolitan consecrates altar for UOC community in Shenborn
Before the Divine Liturgy at St. Michael’s Church in Shenborn, the hierarchs performed the rite of consecration of the altar.