Priest of Russian church released from TCC to go home

Oleksandr Moskovchuk, rector of the Holy Trinity Church in the village of Troyandove of the Odesa Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), returned to the church from the territorial center for recruitment and social support.

This was reported by the press service of the diocese.

"Dear fathers, brothers and sisters! It is with great joy that we share that Archpriest Oleksandr Moskovchuk, rector of the Holy Trinity Church in the village of Troianove of the Odesa Eparchy of the UOC, has returned to his native church," the press service said.

Earlier, the Odesa Regional Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support reported that they did indeed have a priest, but the TSC insisted that it was incorrect to call their actions detention and to claim that they were holding the rector by force because he voluntarily went with the military to clarify the data.

As for the fact that he is a priest and cannot take up arms, the TCC noted that they had offered him the position of chaplain, but he refused, and he did not have armor. However, the law does not prohibit the mobilization of priests.

"There were no medical contraindications that would make it impossible to serve. Given that the person is a clergyman, and with respect for his rank, he was offered the opportunity to serve as a military chaplain in one of the units. After the citizen refused this offer, he, like any other citizen of Ukraine who is recognized as fit for service, is currently at the assembly point for further decision-making," the CCC said on June 14.

The diocese also reported on June 14 that the priest was being held at the assembly center, emphasizing that he had been in the barracks of the assembly center for four days.

This is not the first time that priests have been detained by the TCC. In November 2024, in Odesa, the MCC detained Vitaliy Zharykov, a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), a priest of a convent. But then he was released.

In August of the same year, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law banning the activities of religious organizations associated with Russia in Ukraine.

Кирило Бойко