Metropolitan Arseniy requires heart surgery

Metropolitan Arseniy needs heart surgery. Photo: Sviatohirsk Lavra

On September 30, due to the worsening health of Metropolitan Arseniy of Sviatohirsk, abbot of the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra, he was taken to one of the hospitals in Dnipro for examinations of the heart and blood vessels, as well as consultations with a cardiologist and an arrhythmologist, the website of Sviatohirsk Lavra reports.

The arrhythmologist confirmed the necessity of heart surgery. Doctors also recommended that he undergo a comprehensive examination by specialists of other profiles.

On October 1, during a preparatory court hearing, the hierarch’s condition deteriorated. The defense attorney requested that the session be suspended, but the presiding judge, Tetyana Khaustova, did not immediately agree. Only after persistent appeals from the defense did she announce the adjournment of the hearing until October 3.

This was not the first instance of disregard for Metropolitan Arseniy’s health. On July 21 of this year, when the abbot of the Lavra also became unwell during a session, Judge Ivan Falin initially refused to suspend the hearing until the detention center staff intervened on behalf of the hierarch.

Metropolitan Arseniy has been held in the Dnipro pre-trial detention center since April 25, 2024. Since late September 2024, all hearings in his case have been conducted online. However, due to Judge Khaustova’s refusal to grant the defense’s request for hearings to remain online, from mid-July to late September 2024 the hierarch was transported to and from the court in a prison van. He endured at least ten such transfers, which, given his chronic illnesses, became a severe trial and further undermined his health.

The term of pre-trial detention for Metropolitan Arseniy expired on September 29. However, on October 1 the court rejected the defense’s motion to remove Judge Khaustova. While under recusal, she nevertheless sent a letter to the detention center extending the hierarch’s custody – an act that constitutes a violation of Ukrainian law.

A session of the Dnipro Court of Appeal, which was postponed on September 25, has now been scheduled for October 16.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that Metropolitan Arseniy’s lawyers once again demanded the judge’s recusal.

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