Priest of Orthodox Church of Ukraine who enlisted as volunteer is killed in action

Vitalii Yankovskyi, a soldier who was also a priest of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), has been killed at the front.

Source: Volyn Orthodox Theological Academy and the Volyn Diocese of OCU

Details: Vitalii Yankovskyi was born in Kazakhstan to a Ukrainian family from Volyn. His family later moved to Russia's Kursk Oblast, where the future priest entered a seminary. He later transferred to the Volyn seminary to continue his studies.

Quote: "I have a Ukrainian soul; my roots are here, as are the graves of my grandfathers and great-grandfathers."

Details: Vitalii graduated from the Lviv Theological Academy. He was ordained to the priesthood by Metropolitan Yakiv of Lutsk and Volyn in 1996.

Father Vitalii then served in the Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Lutsk. He taught at the seminary and served as a chaplain to a community of sisters in the lower church and as the director of the Sunday school.

He was a cleric of the Volyn Diocese for more than 10 years.

Quote from the diocese: "He is remembered by his fellow clergy and by parishioners as a humble, conscientious, intelligent and talented pastor who spoke out with a ringing voice and was an inspiring preacher. He was honoured with a number of church awards."

Details: Father Vitalii was widowed in 2023 and joined the army as a volunteer. On 30 September, it was reported that he had been killed.

The funeral will take place on 3 October in Rivne.

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