Cherkasy Eparchy defends its clergy’s right to deferment in court
The eparchy’s lawyers are demanding in court that the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) include its clergy in the deferment lists.
On July 3, 2025, the Cherkasy Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church filed an administrative lawsuit with the Kyiv District Administrative Court, demanding that certain provisions of the regulatory act issued by the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS), which govern the deferment procedure for clergy subject to military duty, be recognized as unlawful and invalid. This was reported on the eparchy’s official Telegram channel.
The case concerns DESS Order No. H-21/11 of February 5, 2025, titled “Certain Issues of Deferring Clergy Subject to Military Duty During Mobilization and Wartime.” The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the eparchy, challenges points 3 and 5 of the “Criteria for Determining a Religious Organization as Critically Important for the Functioning of the Economy and Ensuring the Vital Needs of the Population in a Special Period,” as approved by this document.
The Cherkasy Eparchy’s legal service emphasizes that these provisions violate fundamental principles of non-discrimination as laid out in Article 2 of Ukraine’s Law “On the Principles of Preventing and Combating Discrimination in Ukraine.” According to this law, the state is obligated to ensure equal rights, equality before the law, respect for human dignity, and equal opportunities for all individuals and groups.
The lawyers noted that the defendant “failed to provide the group of Ukrainian Orthodox Church clergy with equal opportunities compared to other religious denominations, which constitutes discrimination.” They argue this violates both Ukrainian legislation and the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights, particularly Articles 9 and 14.
The lawsuit also states that the provisions of the DESS’s order contradict Article 6 of Ukraine’s Constitution, which guarantees the rule of law, and violate the right to freedom of conscience and religion enshrined in international agreements to which Ukraine is a party.
In light of the above, the Cherkasy Eparchy of the UOC asks the court to declare the disputed provisions of the order unlawful and invalid, and to ensure that its clergy can exercise their constitutional right to deferment from mobilization.
Earlier, the UOJ examined the irregularities in the deferment system for Ukrainian clergy.
