Dnipro, Dnipropetrovsk Province, Ukraine, November 5, 2025
Photo: Svyatogorsk Lavra
As OrthoChristian reported last week, His Eminence Metropolitan Arseny of Svyatogorsk was finally released from pre-trial detention after a year and a half, but it turned out to be only another way for Ukrainian authorities to mock the Church, as Security Service officers immediately arrested him again on new charges.
Previously, he was brought up on phony charges of revealing the position of Ukrainian soldier to the Russian army by mentioning a checkpoint preventing pilgrims from arriving at the Holy Dormition-Svyatogorsk Lavra (supposedly via a homily, though the homily was only published days later after the checkpoint was removed). Now he is being charged with allegedly denying Russia’s armed aggression and accusing the Ukrainian army of causing the death of a cleric and a nun and damaging church buildings in statements made in May and June 2022.
In his remarks in court on October 30, Met. Arseny emphasized a broader perspective on his trial: “I’m not defending myself. I'm defending the good that exists in Ukraine. We’re now being tested on our humanity, our conscience, and our common sense.”
He also emphasized that he has no intention of leaving Ukraine: “They say I might escape. Excuse me, but in 2022, I was in the Lavra, trapped under fire, and twice buried in the basement—the brethren had to dig me out. The front line was 260 feet from the monastery. I had the opportunity to escape, but I stayed.”
The next day, His Eminence was kept in court literally all day, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 AM the next morning, despite his poor health. Court began again later that morning at 11:00 AM.
On Sunday, November 2, authorities allowed the Metropolitan to celebrate his first service in over a year and a half. At the St. Seraphim Church in Dnipro, he served a panikhida for his spiritual father, Schema-Archbishop Alypy (Pogrebnyak), who reposed four years prior.
The next day, the court case against him continued. During the session, Met. Arseny again became seriously ill and had to be taken by ambulance. Though doctors recorded his blood pressure as 200 over 110—hypertensive crisis—he was released as supposedly healthy.
“I’ve never been under such pressure,” His Eminence later said. “God is my witness—for the sake of my flock, who came to support me, I held on as long as I could and didn’t show that I was feeling bad. Today I felt worse than I’ve ever felt in my life.”
He also recalled that at the hospital, the doctor was threatened that if he admitted Met. Arseny he would be fired. Thus, the hospital refused to allow him to stay overnight and undergo necessary testing in the morning.
The Dnipro court concluded its hearing later that night, around 9:00 PM, ruling that His Eminence is to be held in pre-trial detention for another 60 days. Previously, Vladyka was sentenced to 60 days, but this date was continuously extended arbitrarily, for a year and a half.
The Metropolitan urged the faithful not to consider the court’s decision a defeat: “Don’t think we lost today. No. Why didn’t we lose? We remained with God and with a clear conscience. This is our greatest victory. Our conscience is clear. Do you understand? And I wouldn’t say God doesn’t help us. We remained with a clear conscience. We remained with God. Yes! His help is with us, He is with us.”
Of course, Met. Arseny has the full support of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its hierarchs. On November 1, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine and 85 hierarchs of the UOC appealed to President Zelensky for Met. Arseny’s release.
The hierarchs emphasize His Emienence’s poor health and that since 2014, Svyatogorsk Lavra, under his leadership, has sheltered thousands of Ukrainians displaced by war, feeding over 5,000 people daily including 1,000 children. They argue his continued detention without proper medical care violates Ukrainian law, the constitution, and international human rights conventions, and ask the President to personally intervene to ensure his release for life-saving treatment.
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