Court refuses to move Metropolitan Arseniy’s hearings out of frontline zone

Metropolitan Arseniy. Photo: Sviatohirsk Lavra

On October 8, 2025, the Dnipro Court of Appeal rejected the petition of the defense of Metropolitan Arseniy, the abbot of the Sviatohirsk Lavra, to transfer the hearings on his case from the Sloviansk City District Court to another court located farther from the combat zone, according to the Lavra’s press service.

The lawyers argued that holding hearings in frontline Sloviansk poses a security threat to the participants in the trial and makes it impossible to question witnesses in person or examine written evidence. Moreover, Metropolitan Arseniy, who is being held in the Dnipro pre-trial detention center (SIZO), has no access to technical means for online review of the case materials.

The prosecutor objected, claiming that “no transfer of the court is necessary since the documents can be reviewed remotely.” The defense viewed this as an attempt to restrict the hierarch’s right to full participation in the proceedings.

Despite the arguments presented, the court denied the motion. On the same day, the session of the Sloviansk court that was to examine Metropolitan Arseniy’s case was postponed to October 29.

Metropolitan Arseniy has been held in the Dnipro SIZO since April 2024, and the hearings in his case have been conducted in online format since September of that year.

The press service of the Sviatohirsk Lavra appealed to the faithful to continue offering fervent prayers for Metropolitan Arseniy and the brethren of the Lavra, who bear the cross of trials under difficult circumstances.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that Metropolitan Arseniy is in need of heart surgery.

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