Metropolitan Arseniy: They urge me to exchange, but my people are in Ukraine

Metropolitan Arseniy among refugees at the Sviatohirsk Lavra. Photo: Lavra Press Service

In his final statement at the November 3, 2025 hearing in Dnipro, Metropolitan Arseniy of Sviatohirsk revealed that he had been pressured to agree to an exchange.

“They came to me and said: ‘Sign the agreement – we’ll exchange you.’ But I don’t want that. I want to stay here. My flock is here. My brothers are here. My sisters, my spiritual children are here. My lads from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who have never renounced me – and I will never renounce them, because they are mine,” said the hierarch.

He stressed that the Ukrainian people, for him, are his many-million flock from the West to the East, whom he has never abandoned. “For the people of Ukraine I have lived and continue to live, and for their sake I want to stay here and serve. I don’t want to run anywhere,” he said.

The metropolitan reminded the court that he has served in Ukraine for 33 years, including 30 years as abbot of the Sviatohirsk Lavra. “I came to Ukraine in 1992 and was ordained here – as a deacon, as a priest, as a bishop, and elevated to the rank of metropolitan,” he said.

“The people who need me are here, in Ukraine. Whatever they may offer me, whatever papers they may tell me to sign for an exchange…” he emphasized.

He also refuted allegations that he intended to flee the country: “I never planned to run, and I’m not going to. Where could I even go in my condition – especially when I don’t have a single document on hand?”

Metropolitan Arseniy asked the court to allow him to remain in Ukraine and to receive the necessary medical treatment. He stated that he needs heart surgery in Kyiv.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that Metropolitan Arseniy said he had been pressured to join the OCU.

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