Moscow, July 26, 2024
Photo: pravmir.ru
The Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate resolved yesterday to temporarily suspend His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Budapest while a commission “studies the situation in the Diocese of Budapest and Hungary.”
In the meantime, the diocese will be administered by His Eminence Metropolitan Nestor of Korsun and Western Europe, reports Patriarchia.ru.
Such measures are typical when accusations against a cleric are being investigated and do not necessarily indicate that the ecclesiastical authorities believe the cleric to be guilty.
Met. Hilarion has also been relieved of his posts as chairman of the Synodal Biblical and Theological Commission and chairman of the Inter-Council Presence on Theology and Theological Education.
Earlier this month, Novaya Gazeta Evropa published an article detailing accusations made against Met. Hilarion by his former assistant and subdeacon George Suzuki, while Vladyka Hilarion told the outlet that the accusations, especially of sexual harassment, are a baseless attempt at blackmail.
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