'Brother Oleg' from the St. Elizabeth Monastery of the Moscow Patriarchate in Belarus signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense and is going to the 'special military operation'.
This was reported in the monastery's Viber chat by Sr Aleksandra (Lyakhova), who coordinates assistance to the Russian military in the SEM, according to Christian Vision.
“'Brothers' are men living at the monastery, mostly in the farmstead in the village of Lysa Hora. They are not monks, but laymen, usually people in difficult life situations, to whom the monastery provides a roof over their heads. Because of their dependence on the monastery, they are particularly vulnerable to manipulation and propaganda.
“This is not the first such case. At meetings, the clergyman of the monastery, Archpriest Andrey Lemeshonok, occasionally will say that one of the brothers went to the SVO, but he has yet to mention that said brother has returned. All this is happening under the guise of social activity, helping the disadvantaged,” said a source familiar with the situation in the monastery.