The summons were received by the rector of the parish of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Homiel, Father Aliaksandr Kananovich, leader of the Christian music project Step Project.
A couple of days later, he was unexpectedly released.
Believers learned about the conscription of Aliaksandr Kananovich into the army, as written in the Kataliki Belarusi community on Facebook.
According to believers, the priest was sent to a military unit in Asipovichy.
Exactly where is unknown, but likely to an artillery brigade: according to press reports, it was there in recent days that residents of the Homiel region were massively summoned for military training to check the mobilization readiness of military units. The training lasts 60 days.
However, the rector stayed in the army for only a couple of days. He was suddenly released, and on September 17 he returned to Homiel.
Believers think that the bishop stood up for him: in conditions of an acute shortage of clergy, Father Aliaksandr remains the only priest in the large Homiel parish.
As a reminder: in May 2023, it became known that Catholic priests began to be drafted into compulsory service for the first time. Previously, there were no such cases—traditionally, both Orthodox and Catholic clergy were exempt from the obligation to undergo military service.
However, on May 22, 2023, 26-year-old Father Dzmitry Malets, vicar of the parish of Saint Michael the Archangel in Navahrudak, was taken into the army.
It is revealing that the priest was drafted a month before reaching the maximum draft age—on June 18 he turned 27, after which Belarusians are exempt from compulsory service.
Malets was sent to transport troops: likely because in this branch of the armed forces it is not mandatory to pick up weapons—servicemen there perform road work.