Metropolitan Hilarion of the Russian Orthodox Church has been detained in the Czech Republic on suspicion of drug possession
Metropolitan Hilarion of the Russian Orthodox Church, who was previously one of the key representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and headed the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, has been detained in the Czech Republic.
The arrest took place on 24 May in Karlovy Vary. This was reported by Deutsche Welle. According to available information, police officers stopped the clergyman’s car and searched the boot.
During the search, law enforcement officers discovered four small containers containing a white substance. Its composition and origin are to be determined by experts.
Ilarion himself, whose secular name is Grigory Alfeyev, denied any involvement in drug trafficking. In a statement released by his defence team, he emphasised that he had never been involved in the possession or distribution of prohibited substances and is demanding an independent investigation into the circumstances of the case.
The Metropolitan’s lawyer, Michal Pacovsky, stated that he had questions regarding the legality of the Czech law enforcement officers’ actions. According to him, the police only searched the boot of the car, and Ilarion himself was allegedly not allowed to be present during the search.
In 2022, Ilarion became head of the Budapest Hungarian Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church following the outbreak of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. At the end of 2024, he was dismissed from this post following allegations of sexual harassment by his cell attendant, Georgiy Suzuki, and was transferred to serve at the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Karlovy Vary.
Czech and Hungarian media had previously reported on Ilarion’s possible links to the Russian security services. In particular, the publication Deník N wrote that the metropolitan could be added to the Czech sanctions list due to suspicions of contacts with the FSB.
Journalists also published a video showing Ilarion firing a weapon used by FSB officers at a shooting range. According to Deník N, the metropolitan claimed that the footage was filmed at the FSB headquarters in Moscow.
Furthermore, investigations by Russian media mentioned that Hilarion may be linked to luxury property in Russia, France, Spain and Hungary. Ukraine has added the metropolitan to its sanctions list for supporting Russian aggression.
