Yelensky: A priest cannot shed blood, yet we do not reserve UOC clergy

Viktor Yelensky. Photo: hromadske

DESS head Viktor Yelensky acknowledged that clergy are forbidden to bear arms, but said the right to deferment does not apply to UOC priests.

The official noted that the mobilization of clergy directly contradicts church rules and harms the civilian population. “For liturgical churches, Orthodox and Catholic, a priest cannot shed blood. He can offer only the so-called bloodless sacrifice,” Yelensky said.

The official confirmed that, to date, the state has reserved more than 6,500 clergy members of various organizations recognized as “critical infrastructure.” At the same time, he stressed that “priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are not subject to reservation.”

Yelensky also emphasized that in the east of the country, a religious community often becomes the center of life for an entire settlement, and “taking a priest or pastor from there is a serious blow.”

The official explained that there is currently no automatic exemption from conscription for clergy. According to him, cases in which clerics are not sent to the front are due not to legal requirements, but solely to a “moral view” and private “understanding” of the situation. “It is more, I would say, that they are treated with understanding. But in general, they can be mobilized,” Yelensky said.

As the UOJ reported, the secretary of the Rivne Eparchy called on the faithful to save their priests.

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