April 24, 2024
According to preliminary information, the Deputy of the Svyatohirsk Lavra, Metropolitan Arseniy, has been detained by the SBU officers. Law enforcement officers are conducting searches at the monastery.
Metropolitan Arseniy is the abbot of the Svyatohirsk Lavra, which is located just a few dozen kilometers from the front line.
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, and even since 2014, the monastery has sheltered thousands of refugees whose homes were destroyed as a result of the fighting.
Today, displaced persons continue to live in the monastery, and the monks of Svyatohirsk regularly provide aid to our military personnel.
Metropolitan Arseniy is one of the most respected clergymen in Eastern Ukraine. He is supported by hundreds of thousands of Orthodox believers. This is why he is being persecuted by the authorities today – to quietly seize the most sacred place, the Svyatohirsk Lavra.
In his sermons, Archbishop Arseniy never resorted to political statements, focusing solely on the spiritual. His words serve not only as guidance for the faithful but also as a source of inspiration for many who seek light in these difficult times.
According to available information, the hierarch is now being transported to court. What exactly he is suspected of remains unknown. However, no matter what the investigators may write, Archbishop Arseniy has done nothing illegal!
April 25, 2024
The Metropolitan of Svyatohirsk, Arseniy, has been sent to a pre-trial detention center for 2 months without the right to post bail!
April 25, 2024
The sermon for which the persecutors of the Church imprisoned the abbot of the Holy Mountain Monastery, Metropolitan Arseny.
In it, His Grace mentions that pilgrims and volunteers were detained at checkpoints and not allowed into the monastery, without being given a reason. People who stood for 7 hours were unable to attend one of the monastery’s feasts.
May 13, 2024
Unfortunately, the Appeals Court has left our dear Archbishop Arseny in captivity!
We pray for the health, preservation of life, and strengthening of the soul and body of the Metropolitan, as well as for all the brethren of the Holy Mountain Monastery.
The hearts of millions of believers today are filled with bitterness due to the injustice that His Grace is enduring.
May each of our prayers become a drop of hope for his release!
May 14, 2024
The United Nations will review the falsified criminal case initiated against the abbot of the Holy Mountain Monastery, Metropolitan Arseny.
During meetings dedicated to the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Ukraine, the unlawful detention of His Grace will also be discussed.
“We once again urge the Ukrainian authorities to change the measure of restraint for Metropolitan Arseny to a softer one and immediately transfer his case to court for a judicial verdict during an open trial,” stated the International Human Rights Alliance “Church Against Xenophobia and Discrimination.”
June 27, 2024
In our time, when freedom of speech and the right to freedom of religion are declared fundamental human rights, many bishops, clergymen, and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church continue to face unjust persecution.
Falsified criminal cases are being initiated against them—simply for their devotion to their Church and Faith.
Below is a list of those who are currently suffering persecution for their affiliation with the UOC:
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Abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan Pavel;
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Metropolitan Luka of Zaporizhzhia;
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Abbot of the Holy Mountain Monastery, Metropolitan Arseny;
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Metropolitan Evlogy of Sumy;
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Metropolitan Theodosius of Cherkasy;
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Metropolitan Longin of Bănceni;
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Metropolitan Josaph of Vasylkiv;
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Bishop Nikita of Ivano-Frankivsk;
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Protopresbyter Sergiy Chertilin;
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Protopresbyter Dmitry Sidor, Rector of the Cross Exaltation Cathedral in Uzhhorod;
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Protopresbyter Nikolai Danilyevich, Deputy Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the UOC;
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Archimandrite Benedict Khromey, Priest of the Khust Diocese of the UOC;
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13 hierarchs were unlawfully stripped of Ukrainian citizenship, and personal sanctions were imposed on several others;
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Valeriy Stupnitsky, Andriy Ovcharenko, Vladimir Bobechko (journalists of the “Union of Orthodox Journalists”).
This list, unfortunately, is not exhaustive. Almost every day, there are reports in the news about new sentences and detentions of Ukrainian believers and clergy. It is not always possible to draw attention to these cases. Nevertheless, we must continue to remember and pray for all those who are suffering for their faith and the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church today!
July 4, 2024
It is reported that another court hearing has taken place regarding the case of the abbot of the Holy Mountain Monastery, Metropolitan Arseny.
The case has been bouncing from one court to another, but no measure of restraint has been chosen. Despite the fact that the term of his previous detention expired on June 22! That means the person has been unlawfully held in prison for almost two weeks!
The Appeals Court, where the hearing took place, merely determined that the fate of the hierarch will, as before, be considered by the Sloviansk City Court, but now by a different judge.
Moreover, the date for the next hearing on the reconsideration of the measure of restraint has not been set. In my opinion, the illegal detention of His Grace in the pre-trial detention center is a clear violation of fundamental human rights and shows a lack of respect for the Laws of Ukraine. One cannot help but ask: why is a person, whose detention term has expired, still kept behind bars?
I am sending a parliamentary request to the Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmitry Lubinets, and I ask to review this case as soon as possible, ensuring justice in the criminal proceedings fabricated against Metropolitan Arseny!
July 18, 2024
For almost a month now, the abbot of the Holy Mountain Monastery, Metropolitan Arseny, has been unlawfully held in pre-trial detention without a court ruling.
The judges have been unable to make a decision regarding the measure of restraint for the hierarch. The term of his previous detention expired on June 22! Today is July 18.
I urge all international organizations, particularly the UN Human Rights Council, to pay attention to this lawlessness. I am also awaiting a response from the Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmitry Lubinets, regarding the unlawful detention of the archbishop in prison.
Metropolitan Arseny must be immediately released from custody!
July 19, 2024
The Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmitry Lubinets, has instructed an investigation into the unlawful detention of the abbot of the Holy Mountain Monastery, Metropolitan Arseny, in pre-trial detention.
In his response to my appeal, Dmitry Lubinets also stated that the authorized bodies will take action regarding the “extension of the hierarch’s measure of restraint by an unauthorized person.”
This is very good news. We await the results of the investigation and hope that our dear Metropolitan Arseny will be released from captivity as soon as possible, and that he will finally return to the monastery to be with his flock!
August 8, 2024
Tomorrow, in Sloviansk, there will be a trial against the abbot of the Holy Mountain Monastery, Metropolitan Arseny.
It is likely that the court will decide to either impose a new measure of restraint or extend the previous one, which is continued detention.
The hierarch has already been unlawfully held in prison for nearly two months as a hostage. The term of his last measure of restraint expired on June 22!
I would like to point out that the case initiated against Metropolitan Arseny is not only fabricated—it is absurd and blatantly contradicts all legal norms and common sense.
The hierarch is accused of “disclosing information about the Ukrainian army’s checkpoints,” whereas his only “crime” is his loyalty to canonical Orthodoxy and his service at the Holy Mountain Monastery, which for centuries has been a stronghold of spirituality in our land.
What kind of logic can explain such cruel treatment of a person who has always stood for peace? How can we allow a trial against an innocent person to become the norm in our state?
What is happening to Metropolitan Arseny now contradicts not only the laws but the very essence of justice. This case is an example of how lawlessness attempts to impose its order under the guise of fabricated accusations.
But the truth always prevails, and this lawlessness will not be an exception!
August 10, 2024
The authorities are doing everything they can to kill the elderly and sick Metropolitan Arseny!
Today, in Sloviansk, the promised trial against the abbot of the Holy Mountain Monastery, Metropolitan Arseny, took place.
Despite the fact that the term of the UOC hierarch’s detention expired on June 22, the judge did not even begin to consider the issue of a new measure of restraint.
At the same time, she granted the prosecutor’s request to hold the hearings in closed session, depriving thousands of believers, journalists, and human rights defenders the opportunity to observe the trial.
The judge also rejected the elderly hierarch’s request to avoid being escorted each time from the Dnipro pre-trial detention center to the Sloviansk court, and to allow him to participate in the hearings via video link.
It is very important to note here: over the past two days, Metropolitan Arseny has been transported twice, under guard, from Dnipro to Sloviansk!
Just yesterday, the entire journey took about 16 hours. And all of this was in the dreadful conditions of a prison van, a cramped box that would cause agony even to a healthy person. For Metropolitan Arseny, an elderly and sick man, this could break him!
All these actions are aimed at one goal – to create unbearable conditions for the hierarch, to break him physically and morally.
The persecutors of the Church are deliberately ignoring the hierarch’s health requests, continuing to subject him to prolonged and exhausting TORTURE AND SUFFERING!
August 14, 2024
Tomorrow, in Sloviansk, a trial will be held against the abbot of the Holy Mountain Monastery, Metropolitan Arseny.
For two months now, he has been unlawfully held in pre-trial detention, despite his advanced age and serious health problems. All of this is happening without any grounds, in violation of all laws, and without a court decision.
It is clear that the authorities need this in order to break one of the pillars of Orthodoxy in Ukraine.
This is not just judicial persecution—it is the murder of a person, the murder of a monk. These criminals in power want to destroy all those who preserve the spirituality of our people, of millions of believers!
I call on all my colleagues, members of parliament, to immediately and decisively respond to this situation.
At the upcoming session of the Verkhovna Rada, we must openly speak out about the criminal actions the authorities are taking against Metropolitan Arseny.
For some reason, no one is paying attention to the torture the hierarch is being subjected to: neither the Commissioner for Human Rights, nor human rights organizations, nor law enforcement agencies.
This can only be called GENOCIDE against the Ukrainian people and the Holy Church of Christ!
August 15, 2024
The court has extended the detention of the abbot of the Holy Mountain Monastery, Metropolitan Arseny, in pre-trial detention until October 13.
The persecutors are thirsting for the hierarch’s death. This will not go unpunished, you will certainly answer for everything!
September 6, 2024
Metropolitan Arseny, the abbot of the Holy Mountain Monastery, continues to suffer in the confines of the pre-trial detention center.
Where are the evidence? Where are the investigative actions? Where are the expert evaluations and interrogations? NOTHING!
An elderly hierarch is being kept under inhumane conditions as if his life is a mere bargaining chip.
Another trial, another humiliation. The defenders requested something basic—participation in the hearing via videoconference, to avoid subjecting the hierarch to mortal danger. 300 km one way in the heat. 300 km back.
This could literally become a one-way ticket for a person who is even being denied food in these hellish transport vans. And what does the court do? Denies the request.
This is not a judicial system—it is forced labor, it is a torture chamber, it is a modern-day gulag, where the authorities take pleasure in the suffering of others. Who will they kill next?
There is no doubt that these inhumane people in human guise are relishing every second of the torment inflicted on those who dare to think differently.
This is what “democracy” looks like in Ukraine. Don’t forget…
The abbot of the Holy Mountain Monastery, Metropolitan Arseny, is in court today.
The authorities continue to ruthlessly destroy the Church through bishops, priests, and ordinary believers.
Raids, fabricated criminal cases, torture in prisons, and humiliations.
Regarding today’s hearing—nothing new. The elderly and sick hierarch continues to be dragged through courts in the frontline region, in a prison van, in the heat, without water or food, completely ignoring his safety.
No evidence, no investigative actions, nothing. Only torture, torture, and more torture…
October 22, 2024
Metropolitan Arseny of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), who has been held in prison by Zelensky for six months without a single piece of evidence of his guilt, gave an interview to the major British publication The Independent.
The abbot of the Holy Mountain Monastery called on London to use its influence to stop the repression against the UOC.
“The UOC is facing a great trial. Our holy churches and sanctuaries have been destroyed, and our priests and parishioners are dying in the war. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian authorities are trying to ban the Church. Priests are being unlawfully arrested, and our places of worship are being seized from us,” said the hierarch.
It is naive to believe that these calls will go unheard in London. The interview will be read not only in the government but also in both houses of parliament, and possibly even in Buckingham Palace.
Zelensky seems unaware of whom he has taken captive and what he is doing.
Metropolitan Arseny is not a criminal, but a person who is being held hostage today. He is being tortured, starved, and there are no investigative actions being taken. Why is a hierarch, whose name is known throughout the Orthodox world, enduring this humiliation?
The situation for the persecutors of the Orthodox Faith is made worse by the fact that the Anglican Church has officially supported the UOC and has repeatedly called on the Ukrainian government to end the persecution of the Faith.
November 9, 2024
The appellate court has once again left the abbot of the Holy Mountain Monastery, Metropolitan Arseny, behind bars.
For already 7 months, this man has been held in prison under inhumane conditions, subjected to daily torture and humiliation, simply for professing the Orthodox faith!
This is Green Terror!
Tens of thousands of priests, journalists, and politicians are already dead, missing, imprisoned, tortured in basements, or have fled in search of political asylum.
December 5, 2024
The abbot of the Holy Mountain Monastery, Metropolitan Arseny, has been left in pre-trial detention for another two months.
For 224 days, the green terrorist has been tormenting the elderly hierarch of the Orthodox Church.
224 days of torture and suffering.
The people will never forgive this!
January 31, 2024
The court has left the abbot of the Holy Mountain Monastery, Metropolitan Arseny, in pre-trial detention for another two months.
Thus, the innocent hierarch will spend at least 340 days in prison.
The court denied both the Metropolitan and the defense’s request for his release, even though 11 members of parliament petitioned for his release on bail or personal guarantee.
Our dear and beloved father, mentor, and friend, we are all praying for you and eagerly await your swift return 🙏🏻☀️
As a true shepherd, you bear all the hardships and persecution faced by the Orthodox faithful today!
April 24, 2025
A year without our Venerable Father: how the Ukrainian authorities wage war against Christ
On April 24, 2024, Zelensky crossed yet another line. In the Holy Mountain Monastery – one of the oldest sanctuaries of Rus’ – searches were carried out. Metropolitan Arseny, a spiritual father, monk, and a man who dedicated his life to serving God and people, was arrested and taken to the torture chambers. Today marks exactly one year since he has been held in pre-trial detention – without a verdict, without evidence, but labeled as an “enemy of the people.”
Why? His “crime” is that he professes Christ. He simply did not renounce his cross and did not begin to preach what fits the current “agenda” of the authorities. He remained faithful to the truth. And in present-day Ukraine, where faith is becoming dangerous, that is already a crime.
This is not an isolated case.
This is one of thousands of crimes committed against our Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
A systemic campaign is being waged against millions of believers: searches, arrests, church seizures, pressure on hierarchs, intimidation of communities. All of this is under the guise of a “fight against Russian influence,” while in reality, it is the destruction of everything that reminds of our spiritual heritage!
Zelensky’s agenda is not just a fight against dissent. It is a genocide of the Orthodox tradition, its dismantling, nullification, and replacement with something “convenient,” adapted to external interests and ideological trends.
Those who are sending bishops to prison today think they have won. But they forget: the Church is not just walls. The Church is Christ, who was unjustly crucified but rose again. And every unjust arrest, every persecution, every act of humiliation – this is not the triumph of the regime. It is its sentence!
We have no right to remain silent.
We must remember. We must demand the release of Metropolitan Arseny and all prisoners of conscience. And we must call things by their true names: this is war against God. And history already knows how such wars end.
We pray for our dear Metropolitan and await his swift return!
CHRIST IS RISEN!