SBU operatives are conducting a search at the office of the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC (MP) in Kyiv, targeting the church’s affairs administrator, Metropolitan Antoniy (Pakanych), as reported by Glavcom.
It is noted that search comes following new charges pressed against hierarch, supplementing those already investigated. He is accused of obstructing religious communities in exercising their legal right to change jurisdiction, as well as abusing authority and disinforming believers.
Antoniy is the leader of the pro-Russian wing at the UOC (MP) who bears the title of Metropolitan of Boryspil and Brovary. He is a key figure in the UOC (MP) second to Primate Onufriy. It is known that he is originally from Zakarpattia, but he studied in Moscow, where he launched his church career. After returning to Ukraine in 2002, that career went uphill. According to journalists, the hierarch may hold Russian citizenship.
He is also reported to be onn good terms with Vadym Novinsky, a pro-Russian oligarch who is considered a curator and sponsor of the UOC (MP). The latter opposes its independence from Moscow.
