Hearing in Metropolitan Theodosiy’s сase postponed after “victim” no-show
Believers and Metropolitan Theodosiy at the court in Kyiv. Photo: Cherkasy Eparchy
A new hearing in one of the criminal cases against Metropolitan Theodosiy of Cherkasy and Kaniv was due to take place on March 6, 2026, at the Kyiv-Sviatoshyn District Court. The case was opened under Article 161 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. However, the hearing was postponed because the “victim” did not appear, according to the eparchy’s press service.
The case against the hierarch was launched in 2023 with the involvement of the Cherkasy branch of the Security Service of Ukraine. It stemmed from a sermon delivered by Metropolitan Theodosiy on the 100th anniversary of the episcopal consecration of St. Luke of Crimea. In that sermon, the metropolitan quoted the saint’s “Testament” in full and then asked whether, in today’s Ukraine, St. Luke himself could face criminal prosecution for such words. Soon afterward, criminal proceedings were opened against the hierarch.
In October 2023, prosecutors sought to have the metropolitan taken into custody, but the court declined to order his arrest and instead left him under round-the-clock house arrest with an electronic monitoring bracelet. The sermon that triggered the case was widely circulated online and drew hundreds of thousands of views.
The March 6 hearing was expected to include testimony from the “victim” – OCU cleric Nazariy Zasansky, who, together with his father, suspended cleric Iosif Zasansky, initiated a number of legal complaints against the metropolitan.
They are seeking a prison sentence for the hierarch and substantial financial compensation for what they describe as the “moral suffering” of OCU clerics. Zasansky, however, failed to appear in court, and the hearing was therefore postponed.
Orthodox faithful from Kyiv came to support the hierarch. After the hearing, Metropolitan Theodosiy spoke with the believers, discussing with them the plight of the persecuted Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the need to remain faithful to Christ and to the Church.
As the UOJ previously reported, Metropolitan Theodosiy has spoken publicly about the details of his guilty verdict.
Read also
Priest charged with desertion freed after faithful raise bail
Archpriest Vitaliy Agafonov, a cleric of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, has been released after bail was posted with funds raised by the faithful.
UOC clergy and laity from several eparchies donate blood for wounded soldiers
Clergy and Orthodox youth of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church donated blood for wounded military personnel.
UOC faithful in Kozelshchansk hold procession with icon of the Mother of God
Pilgrims and clergy of the Poltava Eparchy prayed at the Kozelshchansk Monastery and took part in a procession around the church with the wonderworking icon.
Hearing in Metropolitan Theodosiy’s сase postponed after “victim” no-show
A scheduled hearing at the Kyiv-Sviatoshyn Court in the case against the ruling bishop of the Cherkasy Eparchy was postponed after OCU chaplain Nazariy Zasansky failed to appear.
Ukraine’s Chief Rabbi: The time has come to build the Third Temple
The spiritual leader of Ukraine’s Jewish community commented on Tucker Carlson’s claims about the religious motives behind the war in the Middle East.
US bars removal of children from parents who reject gender transition
U.S. authorities have affirmed the right of families to raise their children in accordance with their religious convictions and biblical understanding of sex.