Metropolitan Arseniy claims in court that he was forced to join OCU and fabricated charges

The abbot of the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra, Metropolitan Arseniy (Yakovenko), delivered a closing speech in court before the election of a preventive measure, stating that he was under pressure to transfer to the OCU and that the charges against him were completely fabricated. Despite his serious health condition, he emphasized his innocence and loyalty to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

According to the Orthodoxy Telegram channel, which published the text of the speech, the Metropolitan spoke about attempts to force him to join the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. «I was forced to join the OCU. In 2015, I was presented as a colonel of the FSB, and they wrote that Yanukovych was hiding with me and we were allegedly hiding his money… What they didn’t write!» — he said.

Bishop Arseniy emphasized that in 33 years of his ministry in Ukraine he has never left his flock and has no intention of doing so. «I have been and remain a metropolitan of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,» the hierarch said. He also mentioned the significant support from the public: ten members of the Verkhovna Rada vouched for him, he is supported by soldiers of the Armed Forces and thousands of believers. According to him, there was not a single protester against him outside the court building.

In his speech, the Metropolitan paid special attention to his health and conditions of detention. He said that his blood pressure reached 200 over 110, but he was denied hospitalization, and the doctor who tried to help him, according to the bishop, was threatened with dismissal.

Concluding his speech, Metropolitan Arseniy once again denied all the accusations. «I do not admit my guilt. There is no guilt. Everything is far-fetched, everything is fantasized,» he concluded.

As reported, former Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov said that the clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church across the country are under centralized pressure from the authorities — they are being sent summonses to force them to abandon the UOC and join the OCU in exchange for a deferral of mobilization.