Court sentences UOC hierarch for sermon on protecting churches
A Khmelnytskyi court found Metropolitan Anthony (Fialko) guilty of "inciting religious hatred" and imposed a suspended sentence.
On May 22, 2026, the court issued a verdict against Metropolitan Anthony of Makariv, vicar of the Kyiv Metropolis. The hierarch was found guilty of "inciting religious hatred" and "restricting citizens' rights on religious grounds", reports "Glavkom".
The court sentenced the 79-year-old hierarch to two years imprisonment, replacing it with two years of probation. The archbishop was also prohibited from holding leadership positions in religious administrations and eparchies for two years.
The grounds for the criminal case was a sermon that Metropolitan Anthony delivered on May 22, 2022, at the Holy Intercession Cathedral in Khmelnytskyi. In a video recording that appeared on social media, the metropolitan called on parishioners not to stand aside if "people far from the Church" come to take away temples. The archpastor emotionally advised driving away the invaders and defending the sanctuaries that the community had built over the years.
In court, Metropolitan Anthony did not admit guilt, noting that due to the passage of time he does not remember all the circumstances of the divine service, but emphasized that he always called people to peace and harmony. The hierarch apologized to those who might have been offended by his words.
One of the prosecution witnesses was a former priest of the UOC who now serves in the OCU. At the same time, another witness, the assistant rector of the temple, explained in court that the metropolitan's words were directed at protecting the Church from criminals, not against believers of other denominations.
As the UOJ reported, the court returned to the former Khmelnytskyi hierarch money stolen during the seizure. Court disputes with the clergy in Khmelnitsky have already concerned not only public speech but also property consequences of UOC temple seizures.
