Court extends detention of Sviatohirsk Lavra abbot in jail for 2 months

On May 23, 2025, the Sloviansk City District Court of the Donetsk Region extended the term of detention of the hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the abbot of the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra, Metropolitan Arseny (Yakovenko) of Sviatohirsk, for two months. This was reported by the official website of the Sviatohirsk Lavra.

It is reported that the court violated Metropolitan Arseny’s right to defense, as the hearing was held without the participation of four of the five lawyers of the bishop, who were absent for objective reasons. The judges traditionally did not take into account the arguments of the UOC hierarch’s lawyers, extending his detention in the Dnipro pre-trial detention center for another two months – until the end of July.

The next meeting of the Slavic City District Court of Donetsk Region in the case of Metropolitan Arseny is scheduled for June 19, 2025. We recall that the abbot of the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra has been held in the Dnipro Detention Center since April 24, 2024. The hierarch is accused of disseminating information about the deployment and movement of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which he allegedly said during a sermon.

Earlier, we reported that the Supreme Court of Ukraine upheld the verdict against the former head of the Tulchyn Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Jonathan (Yeletskih), who was sentenced to 5 years in prison and, as a result, exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia.