A Ukrainian priest who was drafted into the Ukrainian army this month and faces the prospect of front line military service, did not follow the instructions of his ecclesiastical superiors, according to a Friday statement from the Eparchy of Mukachevo.
Fr. Andriy Stebivka, 38, was returning from a spiritual retreat outside of his eparchy when he was detained by recruitment officers on Oct. 12 and taken to a military training camp, according to initial reporting from EWTN.
That reporting stated that both the Bishop of Mukachevo and the Vatican’s diplomatic representative in the country were taking steps to ensure his release.
But an Oct. 23 statement on the eparchy website painted a different picture, and pushed back on the early EWTN reporting on the subject.
That statement said that initial reporting on the incident contained “assessments and interpretations that do not reflect the eparchy’s position and do not fully convey Fr. Andriy’s own understanding of the circumstances in which he finds himself.”
According to the statement, Stebivka did not follow eparchial instructions provided to clergy for ensuring clergy draft deferment.
“On October 12 of this year, Fr. Andriy Stebivka was mobilized in the Rivne region of Ukraine. At the time of his mobilization, he did not have the required documentation formally confirming his eligibility for a deferment from mobilization under the clergy reservation procedure,” the statement said.
“For a proper understanding of the situation, it is also important to note that the eparchy’s administration had previously provided priests with guidance on the appropriate course of action in cases where the reservation process was still underway and the necessary supporting documents had not yet been issued. “Fr. Andriy did not follow this guidance, a matter he deeply regrets. On his own initiative, he subsequently offered his apologies to the eparchy’s administration.”
Rivne, where the priest was detained, is approximately 250 miles from Transcarpathia, the area covered by the Eparchy of Mukachevo. While Mukachevo is considered one of the main centers for Eastern Catholics in Ukraine, the Rivne region is overwhelmingly Orthodox.
Stebivka is a member of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, which is centered in the Eparchy of Mukachevo, and is distinct from the larger Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The Eparchy of Mukachevo is led by Bishop Theodor Matsapula, who answers directly to the Holy See.
Religious ministers are not automatically exempt from military service in Ukraine, a country that has been fighting a full-scale war with Russia for over four years.
According to the law, religious authorities can obtain dispensations for their clergy on a case-by-case basis.
A senior cleric in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, who spoke to The Pillar on the condition of anonymity, showed no surprise at the outcome of the case.
“These are the general rules for everyone, including me,” he said.
“Every clergyman serving within a religious organization in Ukraine is eligible for a deferment. Under this procedure, the religious organization submits the required documents to the relevant authorities through its authorized representative, typically the bishop, to secure or renew the clergyman’s reservation. In this priest’s case, his previous reservation had expired, and the bishop had submitted the necessary documentation to renew it.”
“While the renewal application is being processed and until official confirmation of the renewed reservation is received, clergy are advised to avoid travelling outside the area where they reside or carry out their ministry. Despite being aware of this recommendation, the priest travelled to another region of Ukraine during this interim period, where he was detained,” the source said.
“If [he] had been within the territory of his eparchy, then yes, the bishop could probably have resolved it. But not in this case,” the source told The Pillar.
The Mukachevo eparchy’s statement did not indicate that the priest might now be released from military service, explaining instead that: “Fr. Andriy Stebivka informed the ruling bishop that he remains at peace inwardly and understands his present circumstances in the light of God’s permissive will and providence.”
“He also expressed a sincere desire to serve as a military chaplain, emphasizing that these very circumstances had awakened in him a deep inner conviction that he should be with service members who greatly need his presence as a priest, and that this is where the Lord is calling him to serve at this particular time.”
“Fr. Andriy is currently undergoing the necessary training and completing the required documentation to undertake military chaplaincy ministry,” the statement added.
Stebivka is renowned as an iconographer, with murals in several churches in Ukraine and in the diaspora, including Boston and Dublin.
Although the Ruthenian Catholic Church ordains married men to the priesthood, The Pillar confirmed that Stebivka is himself unmarried.
The Pillar has not received a response to questions sent to the Eparchy of Mukachevo.
Editor’s note: This report has been edited after publication to clarify Fr. Stebivka’s ascription to the Ruthenian Catholic Church.
While it is both Ukranian and Greek Catholic, the Eparchy of Mukachevo is not Ukranian Greek Catholic, but Ruthenian.
There have been tensions over this, often with a focal point of Ukrainian nationalism, between elements in the UGCC and the Ruthenians. As a result, one Church is not always a great source for issues relating to the other, especially in such a context involving the state.