TRC illegally detains 59-year-old rector of UOC church in Rivne region

Archpriest Pavlo Stepaniuk, rector of the Presentation Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the village of Zalavie, Ostrozhets community, Dubno district, Rivne region, was mobilized by officers of the Mlyniv Territorial Recruitment Center. This was reported by the Rivne Eparchy of the UOC.

According to the eparchy, on July 16, 2026, the clergyman, born in 1967, was detained by TRC officers and subsequently mobilized.

The eparchy noted that Father Pavlo had documents confirming the need to provide constant care for his sick mother. In the view of eparchy representatives, these circumstances should have been taken into account when the decision was made.

“We hope that all the circumstances of this case will be thoroughly examined and that decisions will be made strictly within the law and with due consideration of all the documents provided,” the Rivne Eparchy said in a statement.

The UOJ previously reported that TRC officers abducted a priest of the Oleksandriia Eparchy in Kryvyi Rih.

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