The Svyatogirsk Holy Dormition Lavra said on its website on 9 October 2025 that on 8 October the Dnipro Court of Appeal had heard a motion by the defence of its superior, Metropolitan Arseniy, who has been held in custody since April 2024. The defence asked for the case to be moved from the Sloviansk City District Court to another court within the appellate court’s jurisdiction but farther from the combat zone. The court refused the motion, the Lavra reported.
According to the Lavra’s account, the defence lawyers argued that if the case stayed in Sloviansk, war-related threats would make it impossible to escort the Metropolitan under guard to the courtroom to examine written evidence, or to put questions to witnesses directly in the hearing room. The prosecutor’s position was that the documents can be studied online, so there is no need to change the court. The Lavra adds that in the remand prison the Metropolitan has no technical means of online access to documents, since laptops, tablets and smartphones are banned there.
Suspilne Donbas wrote on 10 October, relying on the Lavra’s website, that the court had refused the defence, that jurisdiction was unchanged and that the Sloviansk court would keep hearing the case. It noted that it had no access to the ruling in the register when it published, and that the Sloviansk court was still holding preparatory hearings and had not reached the merits.
A further preparatory hearing in the Sloviansk City District Court was due the same day; according to the Lavra, it was moved to 29 October.
Sources: Svyatogirsk Holy Dormition Lavra, 9 October 2025; Suspilne Donbas, 10 October 2025.
