UOC Metropolitan Arseniy was taken into custody after being released from the pre-trial detention center

The abbot of the Sviatohirsk Lavra, Metropolitan Arsenii, has been taken back into custody.

The hierarch was given a new pretrial measure in a fresh case on “justifying Russian aggression.”

The decision was handed down by the Central District Court of Dnipro.

According to reports, the metropolitan has been placed in a pretrial detention center (SIZO) for 60 days.

However, Metropolitan Arsenii himself said he does not consider the court’s ruling a defeat for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).

“Do not think that we lost today. No. We lost nothing. We remain with God and with a clear conscience,” the metropolitan stated.

The Sviatohirsk Lavra reported that Metropolitan Arsenii was urgently hospitalized during the court hearing, which took place in Dnipropetrovsk.

While viewing the video of his arrest on October 28, 2025, the metropolitan’s rights — as well as those of his lawyers — were grossly violated, as they were not allowed to comment on what was happening in the footage.

During the hearing, the abbot felt unwell, after which a recess was declared and he returned to his hotel. Doctors who were called to the scene recorded critical blood pressure — 200 over 110.

Earlier, the hierarch of the UOC had been released on bail in another criminal case, but the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detained him again the same day on a new set of charges, which led to today’s court decision.

Previously, the SBU had accused Metropolitan Arsenii of “disclosing the locations of Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoints in the Kramatorsk district of Donetsk region” during a church service — allegations the metropolitan denies.

Later, the court imposed a pretrial detention measure while the investigation was ongoing, sending him to custody for two months without the right to bail.