TRC detains rector of UOC parish in Khutorske
The UOC priest was mobilized despite presenting documents confirming serious medical conditions and says TRC officers insulted him over his affiliation with the UOC.
On July 22, TRC officers detained Archpriest Oleksiy Bondar, rector of the Church of the Iveron-Khutorske Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Khutorske, Dnipropetrovsk Region, and a cleric of the UOC Kamianske Eparchy, Pershyi Kozatskyi reports.
The priest was taken to a TRC in Khmelnytskyi to undergo a military medical examination. Despite presenting medical documents confirming that he suffers from serious illnesses, he was mobilized.
According to Father Oleksiy, during his first night at the TRC, officers insulted him after learning that he was a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The cleric was subsequently sent to a military unit in the Ternopil Region. There, the priest said, he was treated kindly and respectfully.
The unit’s command took Father Oleksiy’s health condition into account and allowed him to collect documents confirming that he is unfit for military service.
As previously reported by the UOJ, Archimandrite Epifaniy (Rudenko) agreed to join the OCU in exchange for being released from the TRC.
