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.
Read also
DESS: The number of communities joining OCU in 2024 is half of last year’s
Over a year, 232 communities of the UOC changed their jurisdiction.
Scale of internal damage to UOC cathedral in Zaporizhzhia shown online
The video allows viewers to assess the damage endured by the main Orthodox church of the UOC in Zaporizhzhia.
Ex-MP UOC protodeacon Novinsky declared suspicion of high treason
The former MP is accused of "ensuring that a significant part of Ukrainian society, who are believers of the UOC, remain under the direct influence of the leader of the ROC".
St Andrew’s icon survives under the rubble of UOC cathedral in Zaporizhzhia
The icon was painted by nuns of the St Nicholas Monastery in Patras (Greece) and consecrated on the relics of St Andrew the Apostle.
RF missile strike destroys St Andrew's Cathedral of UOC in Zaporizhzhia
The fragments damaged the roof of the building, dome, ceilings, cut windows and disfigured classrooms.
Media shows conditions in which persecuted communities of Volyn have to pray
After their churches were seized, UOC faithful are compelled to pray in poorly equipped facilities.