Lubny TRC ignores parishioners’ appeal over abducted priest

Archpriest Anatoliy Bezrodnyi. Photo: Pershyi Kozatskyi

In the city of Lubny, military recruitment officials rejected a written demand signed by 50 parishioners calling for the return of Archpriest Anatoliy Bezrodnyi, rector of two churches of the UOC’s Poltava Eparchy, who had been abducted. According to UOJ sources, the military accepted the believers’ appeal but openly told them that the effort to secure the priest’s release would be futile.

Parishioners of the Dormition churches in the villages of Shershnivka and Oleksandrivka submitted the statement to the Lubny TRC. Duty officers registered the document and stamped the applicants’ copy. At the same time, military personnel told them directly that the appeal would not help.

The agency also canceled a scheduled meeting between the head of the TRC and the priest’s elderly mother, citing an urgent meeting in Poltava, even though she had booked the appointment in advance. In the end, duty officers simply escorted the visitors out of the building.

Father Anatoliy was detained on the evening of August 21 while walking down the street. The actions of TRC officers left two rural parishes in the Poltava region without their rector on the eve of their patronal feast.

The priest himself has been unable to give a detailed account of his situation because the military confiscated his means of communication. He managed only to briefly tell relatives by phone that he was being forcibly transported to Kremenchuk, after which contact with him was lost.

The priest’s abduction has dealt a severe blow to his parents. His 75-year-old mother is now alone at home caring for his completely paralyzed father, who has suffered five strokes. She is physically unable to travel to see a lawyer or visit district authorities because her husband requires constant care.

The situation is further aggravated by the fact that the abducted priest does not have the medication he needs. His mother managed to send the necessary medicines to him, but by the time the vehicle arrived, the military had already taken Father Anatoliy to Kremenchuk.

As the UOJ reported, the TRC previously commented on the mobilization of a UOC parish rector in the Volyn region.

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