Elensky tells Zaporozhye clergy to skip "stupid questions" at meeting
"I hope the fullness of the Zaporizhzhia Eparchy will not ask stupid questions," the DESS head said at a meeting with Metropolitan Luke and 42 priests of the UOC eparchy in Zaporizhzhia.
On November 13, 2026, in Zaporizhzhia, the head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) Viktor Yelensky met with Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol and the clergy of the Zaporizhzhia Eparchy of the UOC. The DESS YouTube channel published a video recording of the conversation.
The initiator of the meeting was Metropolitan Luke, who responded to Yelensky's statement in one of his interviews about his readiness to personally communicate with representatives of the UOC eparchies. According to the hierarch, 42 priests were present in the hall, and the clergy of the eparchy submitted more than 60 questions. In response, the official said that he hoped those present would not ask "stupid questions".
Metropolitan Luke first read out a question about the murder of the monk Varsonofiy, who died in August from knife wounds as a result of an attack on the brethren of the Sviatohirsk Lavra. The archpastor asked whether the years-long campaign of persecution against the UOC clergy, accompanied by accusations against priests and monks, had contributed to the killers' decision to commit the crime.
Yelensky stated that he deeply mourns the death of the monk Varsonofiy, other residents of the Sviatohirsk Lavra, and 25 UOC clergymen who died as a result of Russian aggression. He also pointed to the destruction of churches and other religious sites as a result of Russian shelling.
However, Metropolitan Luke clarified that his question concerned not military actions but the campaign of persecution against the UOC clergy in the Ukrainian media. In response, Yelensky asked him to explain which campaign exactly he had in mind. The archpastor recalled publications in which clergymen are called "non-humans" and "FSB agents" and it is claimed that they "have epaulettes under their cassocks," and also drew attention to the lack of any reaction from the state service.
During the meeting, Metropolitan Luke and the clergymen also raised questions about seizures of UOC churches, the situation of communities wishing to establish a Romanian church structure, the use of materials from the website of the Russian Orthodox Church in conducting the expert examination, mobilization and the reservation of clergy from conscription, and the state's demands regarding the UOC's church status.
In particular, Metropolitan Luke asked Yelensky about the many cases of forced transfer of communities to the OCU. The DESS head called such cases disputed exceptions and stated that about 1,900 communities had joined the OCU voluntarily. However, answering a question about the UOC's Cherkassy Cathedral, he admitted that its transfer was not voluntary, adding that similar cases had taken place in other cities.
Metropolitan Luke also questioned the objectivity of the religious studies expert examination of the UOC's statutes. He drew attention to the composition of the expert commission, which included critics of the Church, as well as to the use of materials from the Patriarchia.ru website, which is subject to sanctions restrictions. According to Yelensky, this resource was used to verify information about Ukrainian hierarchs' membership in the governing bodies of the ROC. He stated that if a hierarch is no longer a member of such bodies, he can provide the corresponding decision.
A significant part of the conversation was devoted to the clergy mobilization and the possibility of granting them draft deferments. Yelensky stated that he considers it unacceptable for a priest to take part in combat with weapons in hand, and reported that work is underway on a bill on alternative non-military service for believers who cannot bear arms on religious grounds. At the same time, he claimed that the current criteria for deferment are connected, in particular, with the registration of religious organizations and the legal force of their statutes with regard to the name. Metropolitan Luke, for his part, spoke about cases of mobilization of UOC priests, beatings, and pressure aimed at compelling them to join the OCU.
Finally, Yelensky once again stated that the state demands an official decision from the UOC on withdrawing from the ROC. He insisted that such a decision could be made even by the administration of an individual eparchy as a legal entity, and suggested that the Zaporizhzhia Eparchy take advantage of this opportunity. The clergy objected that such questions cannot be decided by an individual eparchial bishop, since they affect the canonical structure of the Church.
As the UOJ reported, Yelensky had previously attempted to portray Robert Amsterdam, who informs American politicians about the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine, in a ridiculous light. According to Yelensky, the UOC’s lawyer is telling the USA that Zelensky eats Christian babies.
