Court remands vicar of Sviatogorsk Lavra in custody

On January 23, 2025, the Dnipro Court of Appeal of Kryvyi Rih held a regular hearing in the criminal proceedings initiated against the hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the abbot of the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra, Metropolitan Arseny. The subject of the court hearing was a motion to release the bishop from custody. This is reported by the Telegram channel of the Sviatohirsk Lavra.

“The court considered the appeals filed by the defense against the decision of the Sloviansk City District Court of the Donetsk Region of December 5, 2024, which extended the detention of Bishop Arseny in the Dnipro Detention Center for two months, until February 2, 2025. After hearing the defense and prosecution, the Court of Appeal refused to release the bishop’s lawyers,” — the statement reads.

We recall that on January 23, 2025, the Sosnovsky District Court of Cherkasy held a regular hearing in one of the criminal cases brought against the hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Theodosius of Cherkasy and Kaniv. During the hearing, a representative of the prosecution requested the extension of the preventive measure in the form of nightly house arrest from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., which was upheld by the court.