Metropolitan Ionafan of Tulchyn and Bratslav with the UOC (MP), who was found guilty by the Vinnytsia court of denying Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine and other crimes, reportedly wants to make it to Russia via prisoner exchange.
This was reported by Glavcom journalists who got hold of the case file.
Metropolitan Ionafan wrote an appeal expressing readiness to be exchanged as a prisoner of war. Later, the Russian side joined the process, according to the Ukrainian authorized body.
On August 7, 2023, the court sentenced Metropolitan Ionafan to five years in prison, finding him guilty under four articles of the Criminal Code, related to public calls materials for a violent change of the constitutional system, altering of the state border, and denial of Russia’s armed aggression.
Metropolitan Ionafan was charged for penning and publishing an article inciting religious enmity. During the raids conducted at the diocese HQ, propaganda materials supporting Russian aggression were discovered.
Earlier, the Spiritual Front of Ukraine wrote that the metropolitan wants to be recognized as prisoner of war, as per journalist Kostas Onisenko.
How did the Russian Orthodox Church and other churches react to Ionafan’s sentence?
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Patriarch of Moscow Kirill (Gundyaev) stood up for the bishop. In his address, Kirill said that the sentencing was the result of cleric’s “calls for the spiritual unity of Holy Russia, prayer for peace, and frank condemnation of schism.” By the way, Gundyaev himself speaks about “holy Russia” in every other sermon, referring to the “unification” of the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and Belarus into one empire.
Gundyaev also emphasized that he personally knows Metropolitan Ionafan “from the years of study and work at the Leningrad Theological Academy”, and “back in the late 1980s, the state security agencies of the atheistic state tried to intimidate him without success.” The head of the Russian Orthodox Church considers the accusations brought against the Metropolitan of Tulchyn “absolutely false” and the evidence — “falsified”.
On August 9, on the website of the Moscow Patriarchate, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church published an address to the Heads of Local Orthodox Churches, a number of religious figures and representatives of international organizations with messages in which Gundyaev reported on the “persecution” of Metropolitan Ionafan.
Another high-ranking hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev), asked Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán “to secure the release of the venerable hierarch – if not for any other reasons, then at least for humanitarian ones.”
The Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilus, for his part, assured that he is praying for Ionafan and for all “who are being persecuted.” Metropolitan Onufriy (Berezovsky) also expressed his support, and blessed Ionafan to file an appeal.
How did the UOC (MP)’s Tulchyn Diocese comment on the reports of Ionafan’s desire to be exchanged?
“Rebuttal of a false report in a Greek newspaper” – this was the title of an article published on the official page of the Tulchyn Diocese.
In the article, the words of journalist Kostas Onisenko about Ionafan’s guilty plea and appeal to be exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners of war were initially decried as lies. But at the same time, the piece confirms that Ionafan did sign documents for being recognized as prisoner of war and ultimately swapped.
“The consent and signature to the exchange was fraudulently obtained by a group of SBU’s Vinnytsia-based operatives, who, having personally visited Ionafan, claimed that such an exchange already received the blessing and even a written motion from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, as well as someone from Russia’s highest government offices, and that his name has already been included in the list of bishops and clergy for immediate deportation – something that saw no further confirmation. At the same time, the investigators insisted that Ionofan keep the information on the exchange effort secret so as not to hinder its execution. It is possible that a similar deceptive trick may be applied to other UOC (MP) who are on trial,” the statement said.
