Ukrainian Metropolitan Arseny Re-Arrested and Returned to Jail Despite Health Crisis

OCP News Service – 05/11/2025

Kyiv – Ukraine: His Eminence Metropolitan Arseny of Svyatogorsk has been ordered back to pre-trial detention for at least another 60 days after a grueling series of court hearings in Dnipro. The ruling came despite the Metropolitan suffering a severe hypertensive crisis during the proceedings, highlighting what critics are calling a campaign of “mockery” against the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).

Metropolitan Arseny, the Abbot of the Holy Dormition-Svyatogorsk Lavra, was originally released on bail on October 28 after spending a year and a half in custody on separate charges. However, Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) officers immediately re-arrested him upon his release and brought him in on new charges.

The new criminal case, brought under Article 436-2 (“Justification of Russian Aggression”), accuses Metropolitan Arseny of allegedly denying Russia’s armed aggression and falsely claiming the Ukrainian military caused the death of a cleric and nun and damaged church buildings in statements made in May and June 2022.

The subsequent hearings, which began on October 30, were held almost around the clock, including a session that lasted until 4:00 AM the following morning.

During one such session on November 3, the Metropolitan’s health severely deteriorated. Paramedics recorded his blood pressure at a life-threatening 200 over 110 (hypertensive crisis) and transported him to a hospital. Metropolitan Arseny later recounted that a doctor was allegedly threatened with termination if he admitted the hierarch, leading to him being released back to the court as “stable” despite his critical condition.

“I’ve never been under such pressure,” the Metropolitan stated later. “For the sake of my flock… I held on as long as I could and tried not to show how bad I felt.”

During his court remarks on October 30, Metropolitan Arseny offered a powerful defense, focusing not on himself but on the moral state of the nation. “I’m not defending myself. I’m defending the good that exists in Ukraine,” he said. “We’re now being tested on our humanity, our conscience, and our common sense.”

He also strongly refuted the claim that he might flee the country, recalling his actions during the 2022 invasion:

“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.”

On Sunday, November 2, authorities permitted the Metropolitan to celebrate his first service in over 18 months—a panikhida for his late spiritual father at the St. Seraphim Church in Dnipro.

After the court ruled on November 3 to extend his pre-trial detention, Metropolitan Arseny urged the faithful not to be defeated. “We remained with God and with a clear conscience. This is our greatest victory,” he proclaimed.

In a sign of unified support, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine and 85 hierarchs of the UOC appealed directly to President Zelensky on November 1 for Metropolitan Arseny’s immediate release.

The hierarchs emphasized his extremely poor health and his immense humanitarian contribution since 2014, noting that the Svyatogorsk Lavra, under his leadership, has sheltered thousands of displaced Ukrainians and fed thousands of people daily, including over 1,000 children. They argue his continued detention without proper medical care violates Ukrainian law, the constitution, and international human rights conventions.

Source:

OCP News Service