Oleh Vedmedenko was born on 18 September 1961 in Lutsk and spent almost all his adult life in the church milieu of his city. In 1997, while still a cleric of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, he founded the Bible School of Spiritual Perfection at the Holy Trinity Cathedral. That same year he was ordained a deacon of the UOC-KP. Vedmedenko also wrote books, was a member of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, and led a parish: he remained rector of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Lutsk until his final days.
The 2006 Church Conflict
The main turning point in his career came in 2006. The Synod of the UOC-KP declared Vedmedenko's teaching anti-Orthodox; among the disputed positions was his view on the evolution of intelligent beings from inanimate matter. ZAXID describes this decision as excommunication. According to a more precise version of events, in October 2006 he was banned from serving in the UOC-KP, and on 5 November 2006 he was ordained a priest of the Ukrainian Independent Apostolic Orthodox Church by Patriarch Moisei. In 2012 Vedmedenko became a bishop, from 2013 he headed the Volyn and Galician Eparchy, and in 2015–2019 he was first hierarch of the UIAOC.
His son Vasyl became a priest and continued the ministry at the parish his father had led. Another son, Pavlo, also serves in the church.
The Accident and the Driver's Criminal Record
The ambulance call came in at 21:05 on 14 November. According to ZAXID, Savych drove onto the pavement in a Mazda 6 that belonged to his wife, and after the collision headed towards the car park of the Promin shopping centre. He was detained by passers-by and patrol officers. A breath test showed 1.21 promille, which, as ZAXID writes, is "roughly six times the limit."
Six months earlier, in summer 2020, Savych had attacked Lutsk municipal security guards with a gas canister and received three years of restricted freedom under part two of Article 350 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. On 19 October 2021 the Volyn Court of Appeal upheld that sentence. The punishment was not being enforced, and at the time of the accident Savych was at liberty. Savych himself is from the village of Zhydychyn.
On 16 November the Lutsk City and District Court, Judge Alla Paliushko presiding, remanded him in custody for 60 days without the right to bail. That same day, the funeral service and burial for Vedmedenko were held in his church, which itself stands on land where his parishioners had been gathering for many years.
Investigation and Verdict
On 17 December a video of the moment of the accident was published, and the family of the deceased sought to have the driver's actions classified as leaving a person in danger. On 24 December the investigation was completed and part one of Article 135 of the Criminal Code was added, which in ZAXID's wording reads:
"violation of traffic rules by persons driving vehicles while intoxicated, resulting in death"
This article provides for a penalty of restriction or deprivation of liberty for up to two years. The family of the deceased was represented in court by lawyer Roman Khomych, and prosecutor Natalia Havrus asked for a nine-year sentence for Savych. On 10 January 2022 the remand was extended to 10 March. On 7 February Savych stated in court that he "did not run away," and on 11 February witnesses were questioned in court.
On 22 February 2022 the Lutsk City and District Court found Savych guilty under both articles. Judge Ihor Yaselskyi sentenced him to eight and a half years' imprisonment and disqualified him from driving for nine years.
On 7 September 2022 the Volyn Court of Appeal left the verdict unchanged.
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