UOC bishops appeal to Zelensky in defense of Metropolitan Arseniy
The episcopate of the UOC called on President Zelensky to stop the persecution of Metropolitan Arseniy and ensure he receives proper medical treatment.
On November 1, 2025, the hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, led by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy, sent an open letter to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, concerning the situation of the abbot of the Sviatohirsk Lavra, Metropolitan Arseniy. The UOJ publishes the full text, citing the UOC Press Service.
“Dear Volodymyr Oleksandrovych,
We, the bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, appeal to you not only as the Head of State but as a person whom God has entrusted with the mission to stand guard over law, justice, and humanity.
With deep pain and anxiety, we bear witness to our shared concern over the situation surrounding the abbot of the Sviatohirsk Lavra, Metropolitan Arseniy (Yakovenko Ihor Fedorovych). We ask you, Mr. President, to intervene in this matter and assist in his immediate release from custody to prevent a threat to the life of a man who has served God, the Church, and the Ukrainian people for many years.
Metropolitan Arseniy has been held in custody for over a year and a half despite his grave health condition. He suffers from serious heart disease and requires urgent surgical intervention. Medical reports from cardiologists dated September 30, 2025, confirm the necessity of an emergency operation, yet he has not been provided with medical care. Instead, the hierarch is subjected to ordeals that endanger his very life.
Despite the decision of the Dnipro Court of Appeal on October 23, 2025, to release Metropolitan Arseniy on bail (which was posted on October 27), he was detained again by SBU officers on October 28. For nearly 12 hours, including at night, he was driven around various facilities. Such treatment of a gravely ill man is inhumane and contradicts the principles of humanity and the rule of law.
We especially note that since 2014, under the leadership of Metropolitan Arseniy, the Sviatohirsk Lavra has become a refuge for thousands of Ukrainian citizens forced to leave their homes due to hostilities and Russian military aggression.
Every day, the Lavra brethren provided food for more than five thousand people, including about one thousand children who also received education and spiritual support. Under the spiritual guidance of Metropolitan Arseniy, the Lavra became a center of mercy, education, and spiritual renewal. Everything that was built through his labor deserves profound respect and recognition.
His ministry is an example of a true shepherd who, during the war, did not abandon his people but remained beside those who suffer. This is a testimony of genuine patriotism, self-sacrifice, and fidelity to the commandments of Christ.
Apart from the humanitarian aspect, we are also deeply concerned about the legal component of this case.
According to the norms of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, which is clearly based on European principles, most preventive measures are determined through personal obligation, bail, or house arrest. The use of the strictest measure of restraint – detention in a pretrial detention facility – as well as the application of psychological pressure and moral persecution against Metropolitan Arseniy causes deep indignation and anxiety among millions of Ukrainians who closely and daily follow this injustice.
Such treatment not only contradicts the spirit of Ukrainian law but also undermines the authority of the judiciary as an institution meant to defend human dignity.
We are deeply convinced that keeping a seriously ill person in custody without proper medical care is not only a violation of the Constitution of Ukraine but also a direct breach of international humanitarian law and the European Convention on Human Rights, ratified by Ukraine. Such treatment runs contrary to the principles on which a democratic and law-based state is founded.
Ukraine has always prided itself on its religious tolerance, humanism, and spiritual traditions. A fair and merciful resolution of this case would be a sign of the strength of the Ukrainian state, its moral maturity, and its ability to protect the life of every person.
We earnestly ask you, Mr. President, to take this case under your personal control, to facilitate the release of Metropolitan Arseniy so he may receive the necessary medical treatment and surgery, and to ensure a fair judicial review of his case thereafter.
We sincerely pray for Ukraine, for her people and authorities, and for all who stand guard over truth, goodness, and peace. O great and only God, protect Ukraine for us!
May the Lord strengthen you, Mr. President, in fulfilling your high service to the Ukrainian people and grant you spiritual strength and wisdom in making this merciful decision, for, as the Holy Scripture says, ‘Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers’ (Ecclesiastes 7:19).
With respect and prayer,
ONUPHRY,
Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine,
Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
Bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church:
AGAFANGEL, Metropolitan of Odesa and Izmail
MARK, Metropolitan of Khust and Vynohradiv
SERGIY, Metropolitan of Ternopil and Kremenets
THEODOR, Metropolitan of Kamianets-Podilskyi and Horodok
PAVEL, Metropolitan of Vyshhorod and Chornobyl
MELETIY, Metropolitan of Chernivtsi and Bukovyna
ANTHONIY, Metropolitan of Boryspil and Brovary
CLEMENT, Metropolitan of Nizhyn and Pryluky
IRINEY, Metropolitan of Dnipropetrovsk and Pavlohrad
ANTONIY, Metropolitan of Makariv, Vicar of the Kyiv Metropolis
VISARION, Metropolitan of Ovruch and Korosten
AUGUSTYN, Metropolitan of Bila Tserkva and Bohuslav
ANATOLIY, Metropolitan of Polissya and Sarny
IOANN, Metropolitan of Kherson and Tavriya
AMBROSIY, Metropolitan of Chernihiv and Novhorod-Siverskyi
AGAPIT, Metropolitan of Mohyliv-Podilskyi and Sharhorod
ONUFRIY, Metropolitan of Kharkiv and Bohodukhiv
PHILIP, Metropolitan of Poltava and Myrhorod
LUKE, Metropolitan of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol
ALEXIY, Metropolitan of Balta and Ananiv
NIKODIM, Metropolitan of Zhytomyr and Novohrad-Volynskyi
VLADIMIR, Metropolitan of Volodymyr-Volynskyi and Kovel
PANTELEIMON, Metropolitan of Uman and Zvenyhorodka
YEVLOGIY, Metropolitan of Sumy and Okhtyrka
THEODOR, Metropolitan of Mukachevo and Uzhhorod
VOLODYMYR, Metropolitan of Kamianske and Tsarychanka
PHILARET, Metropolitan of Lviv and Halych
THEODOSIY, Metropolitan of Cherkasy and Kaniv
NIKOLAY, Metropolitan of Kremenchuk and Lubny
LONGIN, Metropolitan of Bancheny
VARSONOFIY, Metropolitan of Vinnytsia and Bar
ALEXIY, Metropolitan of Voznesensk and Pervomaisk
BOHOLEP, Metropolitan of Oleksandriya and Svitlovodsk
EUSEBIY, Metropolitan of Shepetivka and Slavuta
NIKOLAY, Metropolitan of Kirovohrad and Novomyrhorod
NATHANAEL, Metropolitan of Volyn and Lutsk
VICTOR, Metropolitan of Khmelnytskyi and Starokostiantyniv
SERGIY, Metropolitan of Tulchyn and Bratslav
PIMEN, Metropolitan of Rivne and Ostroh
JOB, Archbishop of Shumsk
YEVLOGIY, Archbishop of Novomoskovsk
IONA, Archbishop of Obukhiv
ANTONIY, Archbishop of Putyvl
DAMIAN, Archbishop of Fastiv
DIODOR, Archbishop of Yuzhne
VICTOR, Archbishop of Artsyz
SERGIY, Archbishop of Bolhrad
VENIAMIN, Archbishop of Novosanzhary
VENIAMIN, Archbishop of Khotyn
SYLVESTER, Archbishop of Bilohorodka
SPYRIDON, Archbishop of Dobropillia
DIONYSIY, Archbishop of Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi
ANDREY, Archbishop of Petropavlivka
SIMEON, Archbishop of Uhlya
AMBROSIY, Archbishop of Zghurivka
NIKODIM, Archbishop of Liubech
PAISY, Archbishop of Konstiantynivka
LAVR, Archbishop of Irpin
MARK, Archbishop of Borodianka
ATHANASIY, Archbishop of Kamin-Kashyrskyi
KYRYL, Archbishop of Byshiv
SILUAN, Archbishop of Hertsa
THEODOSIY, Archbishop of Ladyn
IOANN, Archbishop of Izium and Kupiansk
ANTONIY, Bishop of Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi
CLEOPA, Bishop of Novoselytsia
THEODOSIY, Bishop of Horodyshche
VENIAMIN, Bishop of Skadovsk
NIKITA, Bishop of Ivano-Frankivsk and Kolomyia
IACOV, Bishop of Drohobych
HILARY, Bishop of Svaliava
ARKADIY, Bishop of Hostomel
ALIPIY, Bishop of Tarutyne
KLYMENT, Bishop of Borivka
ANASTASIY, Bishop of Ovidiopol
SERAPHIM, Bishop of Novovorontsovka
JOB, Bishop of Kitsman
PANTELEIMON, Bishop of Baturyn
PHILARET, Bishop of Baryshivka
MARK, Bishop of Rakhiv
The collection of signatures continues.
Kyiv, November 1, 2025."
As the UOJ previously reported, the trial of Metropolitan Arseniy has already lasted for more than a day and a half.
