We welcome everyone to a joint meeting for worship and exchange of views on persecution for faith and beliefs that require non-military service to protect Ukraine from Russian aggression.
The meeting will be held online on 24 December 2025 at 9:00 a.m. Kyiv time in Ukrainian and English with consecutive translation and with a video recording for further publication. At the beginning and end of the meeting, participants will be inspired by 10-minutes moments of silence.
We ask attenders of the meeting to share their stories of challenges to faith and convictions of conscientious objectors, ideas on steadfastness in faith and the protection of human rights.
Please join the meeting using the Zoom link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/77674863666?pwd=bbyQuInyt3nBtFPJbJC36JIoa6bL54.1
Time: Dec 24, 2025 09:00 AM Kyiv (Please check the difference between Kyiv time and your local time here)
Meeting ID: 776 7486 3666
Passcode: 5HVfk6
Those who might not be able to participate in the recorded public meeting online for security reasons or due to inconvenient time are invited to our usual private meeting for worship on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. Kyiv time.
The worship sharing is organized by the religious organization “Religious Community of Quakers: Meeting of Friends of Ukraine” together with the civic organization “Ukrainian Pacifist Movement” with the scientific and technical support of the private scientific organization “Institute of Peace and Law” and the information support of the website “FREE CIVILIANS. Herald of Peace and Conscientious Objection”.
The Religious Society of Friends in Ukraine is holding this interfaith event, open to people of all religious and non-religious pacifist beliefs, due to the fact that after the antiwar ministry “Lion and Calf” that had place on Sunday, 14 December, the Commander of the Pechersk District Territorial Conscription Center in Kyiv City, Colonel Serhii Kalugin at the same day, despite the weekend, sent a military registration order to report on Christmas Eve, 24 December, for the purpose of illegally forcing Yurii Sheliazhenko to change his pacifist and Quaker beliefs in violation of Article 18 (2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. However, Friends of Christ will worship, not fight war, in this season of hope and historic significance. In response, a statement of conscientious objection was sent, as well as a complaint to Ombudsman Lubinets asking him to ensure introduction of an alternative non-military registration instead of compulsory military registration for conscientious objectors whose religion or beliefs do not allow to use weapons or become soldiers of mass murder (war), so that the unlawful coercion of believers to change their religion will cease.
Such scandalous infringement on freedom of conscience gives a reason to come together peacefully, despite different views and beliefs, and uphold together human right to conscientious objection to military service demanding the due provision of alternative non-military service for conscientious objectors during wartime, which Ukraine promised the European Union during accession negotiations.