Bishop of the OCU fictitiously enrolled men as deacons — 291 people avoided mobilization

Bishop Cyril (Mykhailo Mykhaylyuk) of the Uzhhorod-Khust Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine has been found guilty of obstructing the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

According to case materials, he helped 291 men evade mobilization by fictitiously registering them with the clerical rank of deacon.

The verdict was handed down by the Kalush City District Court.

The scheme operated from June 2023 to November 2025. The bishop and his associates prepared documents granting men the rank of deacon, which provided grounds for obtaining a deferment from mobilization. At the same time, some of the “clients” did not meet the requirements for receiving the rank and had no intention of fulfilling the corresponding duties.

For processing the documents, the initial fee was around €892 per person, which later rose to around €2,000. In one episode, the bishop issued a man a deacon’s certificate backdated — according to the document, he had allegedly received the rank back in December 2020. This allowed him to avoid mobilization during inspections by personnel from the TCC and SP.

In addition, in 2025 Cyril repeatedly approached the OCU leadership with a request to recognize his diocese as a “critically important” religious organization — in order to subsequently gain the ability to reserve clergy from mobilization.

In March 2026, the bishop reached a plea agreement with the prosecutor. In handing down the sentence, the court took into account mitigating circumstances: the convicted man’s disability, as well as a transfer of 500,000 hryvnias in aid to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On October 5, 2026, the court approved the agreement and sentenced Cyril to three years of probation.

The Holy Synod of the OCU responded before the verdict was issued: in November 2025, Cyril was suspended from governing the diocese and banned from issuing documents confirming affiliation with the clergy. In February 2026, he was relieved of his position.