Metropolitan Jonathan's lawyer discusses bishop's exchange to Russia

Metropolitan Jonathan. Photo: Belarusian Orthodox Church

Ihor Chudovsky, the lawyer of Metropolitan Jonathan (Yeletskikh) of Tulchyn and Bratslav, said that the bishop was exchanged to Russia for several prisoners of war after his sentence, reports Glavcom.

"Serving the sentence for the heart-sick metropolitan was equivalent to the death penalty. The defense did everything possible to ease the fate of the elderly sick man and the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers who were in captivity," explained the archbishop's lawyer.

Let us recall that on June 18, the head of the Tulchyn Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Jonathan (Yeletskikh), who had been sentenced to five years with confiscation of property, refused to be included in the exchange fund as a prisoner of war for transfer to Russia. However, on June 22, the bishop was released at the request of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. The authorities did not provide official comments regarding this exchange.

As the UOJ reported, in March 2024, Metropolitan Jonathan suffered a stroke.

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