April 24, 2025, marks one year since the arrest of Metropolitan Arseniy (Yakovenko), abbot of the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra. The hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) was detained by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and remains in custody to this day. According to the monastery’s press service, preparatory hearings in the Sloviansk City-District Court of Donetsk Region are being held via video conference without public broadcast. Once the main hearings begin, the proceedings will transition to a fully closed format, meaning all further court decisions will be kept secret.
On April 21, 2025, the Dnipro Court of Appeal rejected defense motions arguing that pre-trial detention was an excessively harsh measure for the elderly clergyman. The court sided with the prosecutor, who failed to present any evidence justifying Metropolitan Arseniy’s continued imprisonment.
Meanwhile, his detention conditions appear deliberately punitive. Last year, during court hearings, the metropolitan was transported three days in a row from Dnipro Detention Center to Sloviansk in a cramped 50 cm × 70 cm × 150 cm (20 in × 28 in × 59 in) metal cage—a journey lasting at least 15 hours round trip, during which he was deprived of food and water. Despite requests to attend hearings via video link or avoid consecutive court dates, the judge denied his appeal.
The prosecutor insisted on extending his detention, alleging that the metropolitan might flee or influence witnesses. In response, Metropolitan Arseniy stated:“If I spent 30 years in this monastery, even under shelling, why would I flee now? When Russian troops were 80 meters away, I stayed with the brethren and refugees. I have no intention of running”.
The grueling transfers in 35°C (95°F) heat sev">Календарь