The court ordered the pre-trial detention center to conduct a medical examination of Metropolitan Arseny

On December 15, 2025, the Chechelovsky District Court of the city of Dnipro obliged Dnipro Multidisciplinary Hospital No. 4, located on the territory of the pre-trial detention center, to conduct an urgent medical examination of Metropolitan Arseniy of Sviatogorsk, the vicar of Sviatogorsk Lavra. Such a decision was taken after a motion by the defense to change the measure of restraint for the bishop due to the deterioration of his health. The court also decided that Lord Arseny will be able to participate in subsequent meetings via videoconference, and the next hearing on the case was postponed to December 22. This is reported by the press service of the Sviatogorsk Lavra.

The session, which began at 13:00, was overshadowed by Metropolitan Arseny’s poor health before its start. He needed the help of a prison doctor to stabilize his blood pressure before the bishop was escorted to the courthouse. The defense, citing the health condition of the vicar of Lavra, filed a motion to change the measure of restraint to a non-custodial measure. Judge Tatyana Bezruk rejected this motion, but ordered the hospital of the pre-trial detention center to urgently conduct a full medical examination of the vicar and provide the court with answers to two key questions: can Metropolitan Arseny stay in the pre-trial detention center if he has any diseases and does he need urgent surgical intervention?

In addition, the judge granted the motions, according to which Metropolitan Arseniy was allowed to sit at the table in the courtroom, rather than in a special box, as well as to participate in subsequent hearings of the Chechelovsky Court in the videoconference mode. Judge Tatyana Bezruk emphasized the constant presence of free listeners at all hearings, which, in her opinion, testifies to the high-profile nature of the case of the Vicar of Lavra. To support Metropolitan Arseniy in court, as well as at previous sessions, came clergy and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, as well as people’s deputy of Ukraine Victoria Hryb.

The next session of the Chechelovsky Court, originally scheduled for Friday, December 19, was postponed on the initiative of the judge to Monday, December 22, at 10:00 a.m., due to the upcoming holiday — the day of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. In addition, two sessions of Dnipro Court of Appeal are scheduled for Wednesday, December 17. At 10:00 a.m. the hearing to consider the appeals of lawyers against the decision of the Soborny District Court of Dnipro from November 3, 2025 on the imprisonment of Lord Arseny in the pre-trial detention center until December 10 should continue. At 10:30 of the same day, the court will consider the defense’s complaints against the decision of the Chechelovsky court of December 6 to extend the measure of restraint for 60 days.

We will remind, earlier we reported that the Chechelovsky district court of the city of Dnipro on December 6, 2025 extended the term of detention of the vicar of the Sviatogorsk Lavra Metropolitan Arseny for another 60 days, until February 3, 2026. This decision was made against the backdrop of numerous procedural violations, including the non-admission of lawyers and people’s deputies, as well as ignoring the statements of nine deputies of the Verkhovna Rada about their willingness to take the vicar on bail or post bail.