UOC Priest Reportedly Being Pressured to Sign Military Contract

Archpriest Oleksandr Moskovchuk. Photo: Odesa Eparchy

ODESA, Ukraine — Archpriest Oleksandr Moskovchuk, rector of the Holy Trinity Church in the village of Troyandove, remains in custody after reportedly being detained by officers from the Territorial Recruitment Center (TRC) on June 10, 2025. According to a statement released by the press service of the Odesa Eparchy, the clergyman is facing mounting pressure to sign a military service contract despite multiple legal and canonical exemptions.

Church authorities say Moskovchuk, who suffers from poor health, is older in age, and is under the canonical prohibition on bearing arms, is being subjected to psychological coercion, threats, and forced transport between TRC offices and military units throughout the Odesa region and beyond. 

The eparchy maintains that, in accordance with Orthodox Church canon law, clergy are prohibited from bearing arms, and Moskovchuk should be ineligible for conscription under current legal guidelines.

He has now been held for four days in military barracks, cut off from his family and unable to perform his pastoral responsibilities. He is receiving qualified legal assistance and the eparchy is urging believers to offer prayers on his behalf.

Previously, UOJ reported that the abbot of the Holy Spirit Skete of the Pochaev Lavra, has been taken to a military unit in Ukraine’s Rivne region.

Read also