Court keeps Metropolitan Arseniy behind bars for another two months

Metropolitan Arseniy of Sviatohirsk. Photo: Sviatohirsk Lavra

On May 23, 2025, the Slovyansk District Court of the Donetsk Region decided to extend the detention of Metropolitan Arseniy of Sviatohirsk for another two months — until the end of July, reports the website of the Sviatohirsk Lavra.

The court session took place amid serious procedural violations: out of five lawyers representing Metropolitan Arseniy, only one defender was present at the hearing. Despite the justified absence of four lawyers, the court decided to proceed with considering the issue of the preventive measure.

The defense insisted on the release of the bishop, emphasizing the readiness of ten members of the Ukrainian parliament to act as guarantors for the abbot of the Lavra. The parliamentarians have long expressed their willingness to vouch for Metropolitan Arseniy.

However, the prosecution insisted on extending the detention, and the court granted this request. The previous preventive measure was set to expire at the end of May; now the bishop will remain in custody until the end of July.

Metropolitan Arseniy’s lawyers consider the court’s decision made in the absence of four out of five defenders to be a gross violation of the bishop’s constitutional right to defense. Currently, the lawyers are preparing appeals to overturn the court’s decision.

“Issuing such a serious decision without ensuring full participation of the defense is unacceptable,” the lawyers note.

The next court hearing in the case of Metropolitan Arseniy is scheduled for June 19, 2025, at 1:00 PM. Like all hearings in the bishop's case since the end of September 2024, it will be held in an online format.

As a reminder, Metropolitan Arseniy has been in the Dnipro pre-trial detention center since April 24, 2024 — to date, he has spent 13 months in custody. During this time, the issue of his release under bail has been raised multiple times, but the courts systematically reject such motions.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Cherkasy archbishop addressed the imprisoned Metropolitan Arseniy on his name day. “We know that if the Lord has allowed you to bear this burden for all of us, it is also because your love for your brethren, for all the Orthodox people, was such that the enemy of mankind could not bear it. Accept our congratulations and our prayers for you today,” said Metropolitan Theodosiy.

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