Metropolitan Arseny became ill during the court session

On Friday, November 28, 2025, the court hearing in the second criminal case against Metropolitan Arseny, Vicar of Sviatogorsk Lavra, was interrupted and postponed. The reason was a sharp deterioration in the health of the bishop, who required emergency medical care right in the courtroom, as well as procedural violations on the part of the prosecution.

The session was held in the Soborny District Court of the city of Dnipro, where the application of the lawyers on the challenge of the investigator was considered. According to the official website of the Holy Dormition Svyatogorsk Lavra, the Metropolitan was forcibly brought from the pre-trial detention center. In the courtroom he was supported by believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and all his lawyers were allowed to participate in the hearing.

The hearing began with a significant delay. Already during the process it became clear that the defense was not given timely access to electronic materials of the case. The court announced an hour break for familiarization, however, the lawyers got access to the files only ten minutes before its end.

During the session, Lord Arseny’s blood pressure rose, in connection with which he was called an ambulance. Medics rendered him primary aid on the spot. In view of the defendant’s poor health and inability to fully familiarize himself with the materials, the lawyers petitioned to postpone the hearing.

The court granted the motion and postponed the hearing to Monday, without setting an exact time. The defense party expresses concern about the delay in consideration of their applications, which, in their opinion, “calls into question the impartiality of judges”. It is reported that despite the state of health of the metropolitan, on Saturday, November 29, new procedural actions with his participation are scheduled.

We will remind, earlier we reported that on November 28, the hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Metropolitan of Cherkasy and Kanevsk Metropolitan Theodosius was urgently hospitalized in a hospital in Cherkasy. It is reported that the bishop’s health deteriorated sharply due to heart problems.