Dnipro, Dnipropetrovsk Province, Ukraine, February 25, 2026
svlavra.church.ua
His Eminence Metropolitan Arseny of Svyatogorsk of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church was released from pre-trial detention today, after spending 22 months behind bars.
A court in Dnipro ruled today to change the measure of restraint against him from pre-trial detention to house arrest, reports the Svyatogorsk Lavra, where Met. Arseny has served as abbot for decades.
The decision is not subject to appeal.
Met. Arseny was initially detained on April 25, 2024, for mentioning a military checkpoint in a homily months prior. After 18 months behind bars, he was released on October 28, 2025, after his lawyers secured bail in the amount of 1.514 million hryvnias ($35,950). However, immediately upon exiting the detention facility, Security Service officers met and presented him with new charges that had been issued three weeks earlier. He was eventually transferred back to the detention facility.
Doctors determined in late September that the hierarch urgently needs heart surgery, but has not received adequate medical attention while under the state’s watch.
Since the beginning of hostilities in eastern Ukraine, Met. Arseny regularly supported people affected by the conflict, with the Svyatogorsk Lavra serving as a shelter for thousands of people amid the war.
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