The trial of the vicar of Sviatogorsk Lavra postponed again

The preparatory court hearing in the case of the hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Arseny of Sviatohirsk, scheduled for October 24, 2024, did not take place and was postponed. The reason for this was the failure of the presiding judge to coordinate the dates of the hearing with the defense, which leads to the overlap of hearings and the impossibility of the appearance of lawyers. This was reported by the official website of the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra.

As previously reported, the defense filed appeals against the decision of the Sloviansk City District Court to extend the detention of Bishop Arseny. As of today, the lawyers have not received any official notification from the Dnipro Court of Appeal, which is to consider the appeals, about the date and time of the hearing. Tentatively, it may be November 6.

At the hearing, MPs of Ukraine who filed applications for a personal guarantee of Metropolitan Arseny and who were denied this request by the judge presiding over the case expressed a desire to speak at the hearing. There are currently eleven such MPs who are guarantors, representing various political forces and regions of Ukraine.

Earlier, the abbot of the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra, Metropolitan Arseny of Sviatohirsk, called on the British government to influence Vladimir Zelensky by increasing pressure on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The bishop drew attention to the fact that despite all the assistance of the Church to the Ukrainian army and people in connection with the Russian-Ukrainian war, the UOC is experiencing unprecedented persecution by the authorities.