The Russian occupation authorities have begun reshuffling clergy in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Local priests who sided with the occupying forces after the invasion and came under the Moscow Patriarchate are gradually being replaced by clergy sent directly from Russia, according to the Center of National Resistance.
The Center says that some local priests are being transferred to remote regions of Russia, while others are being removed from leadership positions or suspended from ministry altogether. Their roles are being filled by priests appointed by the Russian authorities.
According to the Center of National Resistance, the Kremlin is using these personnel changes to tighten its control over religious life in the occupied territories. The newly appointed clergy are said to be more actively promoting Russian propaganda, supporting the occupation administration, and using church communities as a tool of ideological influence.
The Center also states that even local collaborator priests who had worked with the occupation authorities for years have lost the Kremlin’s trust. They are being replaced by clergy from Russia, who are considered more loyal and more willing to carry out the political and ideological objectives of the occupation authorities.
Earlier, it was reported that the Russian Orthodox Church had officially approved at least 12 prayers related to the war.
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