The Ukrainian authorities have sent Bishop Seraphim (Kadubyansky) of Novovorontsovo of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) to serve in the army as a soldier, according to the Telegram channel of the Ukrainian Union of Orthodox Journalists (UOJ).
Earlier, the UOJ reported that the staff of the military enlistment office abducted Bishop Seraphim and Hieromonk Gabriel (Kinashchuk).
"Bishop Seraphim of Novovorontsovo, who was previously detained by the TCK, was assigned to the second battalion of a military unit in the Rivne region. That is, Vladyka is already serving as a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the message says.
According to Orthodox canons, clergymen are not allowed to kill, shed blood, take up arms, that is, serve in the army as soldiers.
Recently, there have been more and more reports about the mobilization of the UOC clergy in Ukraine. On August 8, Rada deputy Artyom Dmytruk, who left Ukraine, spoke about the abduction of two UOC priests in Kharkov by employees of the military enlistment office and the SBU. On August 4, the Union of Orthodox Journalists (UOJ) reported that employees of the military enlistment office in the Rivne region had detained two clergymen of the Sarna diocese. On September 2, the First Cossack TV channel reported that employees of the military enlistment office in Ternopil in western Ukraine had abducted the priest of the Cathedral of Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia of the canonical UOC, Vasily Marko. Similar cases have occurred in other regions of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian authorities have organized the largest wave of persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in the country's recent history. The UOC is the largest community of believers in the country and the only canonical Orthodox church, that is, the one where the sacraments and divine services performed by the clergy are considered valid, real - unlike the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), created by secular authorities and excommunicated former "priests", "bishops" and their followers. From the point of view of Orthodox doctrine, the OCU is not an apostolic church, there is no apostolic succession in it (that is, a series of episcopal ordinations from the apostles appointed by Jesus Christ), there is no Divine Grace in such a "church", and the "clergy" of the OCU have no right to perform divine services and sacraments, including ordination new priests, baptize, marry, confess and give communion to people.
Referring to the connection of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with Russia, local authorities in different regions of Ukraine have decided to ban the activities of the UOC. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) began to open criminal cases against the clergy of the UOC, to conduct "counterintelligence activities": searches of bishops and priests, churches and monasteries in search of evidence of "anti-Ukrainian activities." The head of the SBU, Vasyl Malyuk, said in August 2025 that more than 170 criminal cases had been opened against priests in the country, and sentences had already been passed against 31 priests. Many representatives of the UOC clergy are in prison.
Hundreds of Orthodox churches of the UOC were forcibly seized by Ukrainian schismatics from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) with the support of local authorities, while priests and lay people, men and women, are subjected to physical violence. On September 23, 2024, a law passed by the Verkhovna Rada and signed by Vladimir Zelensky came into force in the country, allowing to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.