Khmelnytskyi, Khmelnytskyi Province, Ukraine, May 22, 2026
Photo: Suspilne
A Ukrainian court has sentenced another hierarch of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church for speaking out in defense of the Church.
His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony of Makarov, a vicar of the Kiev Diocese, was found guilty in Khmelnytskyi for “inciting religious hatred” and “restricting the rights of citizens on religious grounds,” reports the Union of Orthodox Journalists.
The court sentenced the 79-year-old bishop to two years imprisonment, which was replaced with a two-year suspended sentence. He was also banned from holding leadership positions in religious administrations and dioceses for two years.
The criminal case was triggered by a sermon that Met. Anthony delivered on May 22, 2022, at the Holy Protection Cathedral in Khmelnytskyi. In a video recording that appeared on social media, he called on parishioners not to stand aside if “people far from the Church” came to seize churches. The bishop emotionally advised driving out those attempting seizures and defending the sacred sites that the community had built over the years.
In court, Met. Anthony didn’t admit guilt, as he couldn’t remember anymore exactly what he had said four years ago, but emphasized that he always called people to peace and harmony. The bishop apologized to those who may have been offended by his words.
One of the prosecution witnesses was a former priest of the UOC who left the Orthodox Church to serve in the OCU. Meanwhile, another witness, an assistant to the rector of the church, explained in court that the Metropolitan’s words were aimed at protecting the Church from criminals, not necessarily against believers of other denominations.
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