The court in Dnipro extended the measure of restraint for Metropolitan Arseniy, vicar of Sviatogorsk Lavra

The Chechelovsky District Court of Dnipro city extended the measure of restraint in the form of detention for the vicar of the Holy Assumption Svyatogorsk Lavra, Metropolitan Arseniy of Svyatogorsk. According to the court decision, issued on January 22, 2026 by Judge Tatyana Vasilyevna Bezruk, the bishop will remain in pre-trial detention for another 60 days, until March 22, 2026. At the same time, the defense’s request for online broadcasting of court hearings was granted.

According to the official website of the Holy Assumption Svyatogorsk Lavra, consideration of the issue of further measure of restraint was held on January 20 and 21. The prosecutor petitioned to extend the arrest for two months, while the defense side insisted on replacing the preventive measure with a non-custodial measure.

Metropolitan Arseniy participated in the sessions via video link. on January 20, the 31st anniversary of his appointment as Vicar of Lavra, he once again declared his innocence and emphasized the need for heart surgery. Believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church came to the courtroom to express their support.

on January 21, a Kyiv-based professor of medicine joined the online session and, based on previously established diagnoses, presented an expert opinion on the metropolitan’s state of health. The specialist emphasized that the Dnieper medics who planned the surgery on January 7 had shown themselves to be «absolutely incompetent.» According to him, a thorough examination and preparation is necessary before a surgical intervention, which cannot be done in one day. He also noted that Dnipro clinics do not have the necessary equipment to examine Metropolitan Arseniy because of the complexity of his case. The bishop needs a full-fledged examination in specialized clinics, in-patient treatment and rehabilitation after a year and nine months spent in the pre-trial detention center. The expert added that the current medications prescribed by Dnipro doctors not only do not help, but also harm the vladyka.

During the hearing, the prosecutor brought a therapist of the SIZO hospital into the courtroom as a witness. However, Metropolitan Arseny did not agree to her testimony, explaining that earlier this woman had only measured his blood pressure and «learned to take a cardiogram with him.»

Metropolitan Arseniy’s lawyers also filed a petition to broadcast the court sessions on the YouTube channel «Sudova vlasta Ukraina» and the portal of the same name. They argued that the case was high-profile and that free listeners who wished to attend were deprived of such an opportunity due to the fact that a significant part of the seats in the small hall were occupied by law enforcement officers. The court granted the motion.

The defense side is preparing appeals against the court’s decision. Sviatogorsk Lavra calls the faithful to pray for the imprisoned Metropolitan Arseny and the brethren, and also asks for as much as possible donations for further legal defense of the bishop.

We shall remind you that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has officially confirmed that some representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are being used as an «exchange fund» for the return of Ukrainian citizens from Russian captivity. Since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the SBU has facilitated the return of 6,266 people, with some of them being released precisely due to the exchange for «odious churchmen».