Khmelnitski, Khmelnitsky Province, Ukraine, September 23, 2026
Photo: liturgija.mk
A Ukrainian appeals court has upheld the conviction of a hierarch of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church who was sentenced earlier this year for speaking out in defense of the Church.
The Khmelnitsky Court of Appeals ruled on September 17 to leave in force the verdict against His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony of Makarov, former head of the Khmelnitsky Diocese, reports LB.ua.
The court upheld his primary sentence of two years imprisonment, along with an additional penalty barring him from holding leadership positions in religious administrations and dioceses for two years.
Under Article 75 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, Met. Anthony’s main sentence was suspended, with a two-year probationary period set. The defense now has three months to file a cassation appeal against the appellate court’s ruling.
The 79-year-old bishop was convicted under Part 2 of Article 161 of the Criminal Code, which addresses violations of citizens’ equality on the basis of race, nationality, regional origin, or religious belief, committed through violence, deceit, threats, or by an official. The article carries penalties ranging from a fine to five years imprisonment.
The Khmelnitsky City-District Court found Met. Anthony guilty in May of inciting interreligious hatred over a 2022 sermon in which 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.
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