A year has passed since the abbot of Sviatohirsk Lavra was imprisoned in a detention center

April 24 marked the one-year anniversary of the detention of the hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Arseny of Sviatohirsk. The bishop has been in the pre-trial detention center in Dnipro for a year after he was detained by the SSU and served with a suspicion of committing a criminal offense. This was reported by the press service of the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra.

“Bishop Arseniy is charged with disseminating information about the movement, movement or location of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, provided that they can be identified on the ground, which, according to Part 2 of Article 114-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, provides for a sentence of up to 8 years in prison. The reason for the initiation of a criminal case was a video of his address of September 23 to the faithful with a request to pray for the pilgrims who were not allowed by the police to enter the Lavra on the feast of the Council of the Holy Fathers of Sviatogorsk at the entrance to the monastery on September 25, 2023, published on the Lavra’s Youtube channel. The suspicion is justified by the fact that in this appeal, Bishop Arseny allegedly told the faithful about the location of the checkpoints of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near the Lavra and thus disseminated military information,” – the press service of the monastery reports.

The Sviatohirsk Lavra added that the hierarch is not being released from the jail even though 11 MPs are ready to take Metropolitan Arseniy on bail. The court seems to be extending the bishop’s detention on a regular basis, without any particular reason.

“At the moment, 11 MPs of Ukraine from different factions are ready to take Bishop Arseny on bail. For a long time, they have been submitting relevant statements to the court. One of them, MP Victoria Gryb, participates in all key court hearings. At each new hearing that considers the issue of extending the detention of Bishop Arseny in the pre-trial detention center, the defense is trying to request an alternative measure of restraint for him that does not involve imprisonment, such as release on bail, bail or other,” – the Sviatogorsk Lavra noted.

Earlier, the abbot of the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra, Metropolitan Arseniy, who is under investigation in a pre-trial detention center, called on believers to hold on to the Mother Church and courageously endure all trials.